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A 



THE 



Centennial History 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES. 

THE DISCOVERY 



OF THE 



AMERICAN COFTINENT 

TO THE 

CLOSE OF THE FIRST CENTURY 



OF 



gMERicAN Independence. 

BY c^ 

James D. McCabe, 

AUTHOE OF "A MANUAL OF GENERAL HISTDEY," "PATHWAYS OF THE HOLY LAND," "HISTORY OF THE WAR 
BETWEEN GERMANY ANB FRANCE," "THE GREAT REPUBLIC," ETC., ETC. 

EMBELLISHED WITH 442 FINE HISTORICAL ENGRAVINGS AND PORTRAITS. 



issued by subscription only, anrt not for sale in the book stores. Residents of any State desirij)^ copy should 
address the Publishers, and an Agent will call upon them. See page 927- /. 



PUBLISHED BY X! ■ .; ;v{\3^ 

THE NATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPll^r; 

Philadelphia, Pa., Chicago, III., and St. Louis, Mo. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S74, by 

J. R. JONES, 

In the Oflice of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 






PREFACE. 



^^^HERE is nothing more worthy of a man's study than the 
M\ history of his country. In our own land, however, the 
^h means of pursuing such a study are limited. Our great 
cities contain large and valuable public libraries, and 
the collections of our historical societies are rich and very com- 
plete ; but these are accessible only to the communities in which 
the}^ are located, and are practically useless to the majority of 
the American people. The great works of Bancroft and 
Hildreth cover but a portion of our history, and are removed 
from the reach of the masses by reason of their costliness. 
Besides these, the larger number of the works treating of Ameri- 
can history are compendiums, or outlines intended for the use 
of schools, and are therefore unsatisfactory to the adult reader. 
The demand for a popular History of the United States which 
shall fill a place between these greater and smaller works has 
led the author to the preparation of this volume. He has 
endeavored to popularize the story of the nation, and at the 
same time to neglect nothing that could in the least contribute 
to a clear and comprehensive understanding of the subject. He 
has sought to trace the history of the Republic from the dis- 
covery of the American continent to the present day, and has 
endeavored especially to fix the attention of the reader upon 
the various influences which have aided in moulding our 
national character, and have produced those distinctive political 

and moral national traits which we call " American Institu- 

3 



4 PREFACE. 

tions." He has endeavored to write from a broad national 
standpoint, and to cultivate in the minds of his readers that 
feeling of national patriotism which must ever be the safeguard 
of our country. 

It is a fitting time to consider the story of the past, to learn 
the lessons which it teaches, and to ponder'the warnings which 
it conveys for the future. On the 4th of Jul}-, 1876, the 
United States of America will complete the first century of 
their national existence. The people of this country can look 
back upon this period with pride, and in this feeling may justly 
embrace the whole course , of our history. Less than four 
hundred years ago America was an unknown wilderness. Less 
than three centuries ago it passed into the hands of England, 
and was thus secured for the language and the free influences 
of the all-conquering Anglo-Saxon race. It was a precious 
heritage which was thus secured for liberty ; a land stretching 
from the frozen regions of the north to the sunny skies of the 
tropics, from the stormy Atlantic to the calm Pacific ; a land 
embracing every variety of climate, and a soil capable of 
producing almost every product of the earth, from the stunted 
herbage of the frozen regions to the luxuriant fruits of the 
tropics. The earth is rich in mineral deposits, from the 
homely, but invaluable, veins of coal, to beds of the most 
brilHant and precious minerals. It pours out in streams, oil for 
burning, gas that may be used fresh from the natural springs, 
salt that requires but the heat of the sun for its perfection, and 
beds of pure soda that cover the earth like the dust in the 
highways. In short, all that is needed for the preservation 
and comfort of animal and human life exists in this favored 
land in the greatest profusion. 

Such is the land designed by God for the home of liberty. 
The people to whom He has intrusted it have not abused His 



PREPACK 5 

goodness. In the short space of two centuries, the American 
people have grown from a small handful of hardy adventurers 
to a "mighty continental nation," increasing with a rapidity 
that is almost marvellous. They have built up their country 
on a scale of magnificence of which they are justly proud. 
They have covered it with powerful and free States, and splen- 
did cities, connected by a network of railways, telegraphs, 
navigable rivers, and canals, which bind all the scattered parts 
into one solid whole. They have made a commerce and a 
system of manufactures before which the fabled wealth of Tyre 
sinks into insignificance. They have created a literature 
which commands the respect of the world; they have illus- 
trated their history with deeds of arms not less splendid than 
their more peaceful achievements, and have given to the world 
names in every walk of life that will never die. They have 
shown that liberty and power can go hand in hand ; they have 
made themselves a nation in which God is feared, and of which 
Christianity" is the basis, in which ignorance and vice are 
despised, and in which the great lesson that liberty is possible 
only to an educated and virtuous people is being practically 
demonstrated. 

This is a grand history — a record of the highest achievements 
of humanity — the noblest, most thrilling, and glorious story 
ever penned on earth. Yet the fact remains that the great 
mass of the American people are but imperfectly acquainted 
with it. There is a real need that we should know better than 
we do what we have done. It is only by a thoughtful study of 
our past that we can safely provide for the perils of the future. 
We have triumphed over adversity, and we are now called 
upon to bear the test of success. He can be no good citizen 
who is ignorant of his country's history. 

In the preparation of this volume no authority of importance 



6 PREFACE. 

has been overlooked ; the author has carefully searched every 
source of information open to him ; and has availed himself of 
every fact that could throw new light upon, or impart addi- 
tional interest to, the subject under consideration. 

In the narration of military events, he has preferred to give 
each campaign as a whole rather than to mingle several by 
presenting the events in chronological order. At the same 
time he has sought to preserve the inter-relation of events in 
one field of operations to those in the others. 

An honest effort has been made to do justice to both sections 
in the relation of the events of the civil war, and it is believed 
that each will admit the fairness and accuracy of the narrative. 
The author has made no attempt to intrude his own political 
views upon the reader, and has constantly ke})t in mind the 
purpose which has guided his labors — to write a national liistory 
free from sectional or partisan bias, which shall be acceptable 
to the whole country. 

The book is offered to the public in the sincere hope that it 
may induce its readers to take to heart the lessons which our 
history teaches, and to set a higher value upon the precious 
heritage of constitutional liberty which our fiithers won for us 
with their blood, and handed down to us in trust for our 
children's children. 

October 19th, 1875. 







CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PRIMITIVE INHABITANTS. 

Earliest Inhabitants of the United States— The Mound Builders — Remarkable Works 
constructed by them — Evidences of a Primitive Civilization — Indications of the An- 
tiquity of this Period — The American Indians — Divisions of the Country among 
the Tribes — Names and Location of the various Tribes — Organization and Govern- 
ment of the Indians — Their Dress, Manners, and Customs — Villages — Indian In- 
ventions — The War Dance — Legends of the Norsemen respecting the Discovery of 
America 33 

CHAPTER II. 

THE VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS. 

Maritime Enterprise in the Fifteenth Century — Theories respecting the Earth's 
Surface — Christopher Columbus — His early Life — His Theory of a Western Pas- 
sage to India — His Struggles to obtain the means of making a Voyage — Is aided 
by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain — His first Voyage — Discovery of America — 
Reception in Spain — His second Voyage — Settlement of Hayti — Third Voyage of 
Columbus — He reaches the ^Mainland — Discovery of Gold in Hayti — Troubles in 
the Colony — Columbus sent to Spain in Irons — Indignation of the Queen — Last 
Voyage of Columbus — His Sbipwreck — Returns to Spain — Refusal of Ferdinand to 
comply with his Promises — Death of Columbus — Amerigo Vespucci — Origin of the 
name Ameeica 45 

CHAPTER III. 

ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 

Discovery of the North American Continent by John Cabot — Voyages of Sebastian 
Cabot — The English fail to follow up these Discoveries — Efforts of the French to 
explore America — Voyage and Discoveries of Verrazzani — Cartier explores the St. 
Lawrence — Reaches Montreal — Efforts to found a Colony on the St. Lawrence — 
Failure — Roberval's Colony — Trading Voyages — Explorations of Champlain — 
Colonization of Nova Scotia — Founding of Quebec — Discovery of Lake Champlain 
— Arrival of the Jesuits in Canada — Death of Champlain 57 

7 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA. 

Settlement of the West Indies — Discovery of the Pacific Ocean — Voyage of Magellan 
— Discovery of Florida — Ponce de Leon's Search for the Fountain of Youth — 
Vasquez de Ayllon Kidnaps a Cargo of Indians — Effort of Paraphilo de Narvaez to 
Conquer Florida — A Terrible March — The Voyage on the Gulf of Mexico — Fate 
of the Fleet — Escape of Cabeza de Vaca and his Comrades — Discovery of New 
Mexico — Ferdinand de Soto — Obtains leave to Conquer Florida — Sails from Spain 
— Arrival in Cuba — Departure for Florida — Landing at Tampa Bay — Events o^ the 
first Year — De Soto enters Georgia — Descends the Alabama — Battle of Mavilla — 
Destruction of Chickasaw — Sufferings of the Spaniards — Discovery of the ^lississippi 
— The Spaniards Cross the Great River — De Soto in Arkansas — Reaches the Missis- 
sippi again — Sickness and Death of De Soto — His Burial — Escape of his Followers 
to Mexico — The Huguenot Colony in Carolina — Its Failure — The French Settle in 
Florida — Wrath of Philip II. — Alelendez ordered to Exterminate the Huguenots — 
Foundation of St. Augustine — Massacre of the French at Fort Carolina — The Ven- 
geance of De Gourges 68 

CHAPTER V. 

THE FIRST ENGLISH COLONY. 

The English Claim to America — Voyages of Frobisher— Exploits of Sir Francis 
Drake — Sir Humphrey Gilbert — Intends to found a Colony in America — Is lost 
at Sea — Sir Walter Raleigh obtains a. Patent of Colonization — Discoveries of 
Amidas and Barlow — Raleigh sends out a Colony to Virginia — Settlement on 
Roanoke Island — Its Failure — Arrival of Grenville — Second Effort of Raleigh to 
Colonize Virginia — Roanoke Island again Settled— The " City of Raleigh" — Vir- 
ginia Dare— Fate of the Colony— -Death of Raleigh— Other Voyages of the English.. 86 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 

Formation of the London Company — Conditions of its Charter — Departure of the 
first Colony — Quarrels during the Voyage — Arrival in the Chesapeake — Settlement 
of Jamestown — Formation of the Government — Character of Captain John Smith — 
Exploration of the James River — Newport and Smith visit Powhatan — Smith 
Admitted to the Government — Explores the Chickahominy — Is Captured and Sen- 
tenced to Death — Is Saved by Pocahontas — Gains the Friendship of Powhatan for 
the Colony — Returns to Jamestown — His Decisive Measures — Return of Newport — 
Smith Explores the Chesapeake Bay — The new Emigrants — Smith compels them 
to Labor — Smith is Wounded and compelled to return to England — Disasters to 
the Colony — Arrival of Sir Thomas Gates — Jamestown Abandoned — Arrival of 
Lord Delaware — The Return to Jamestown — A Change for the Better— New 
Settlements — Sir Thomas Gates arrives with Reinforcements — Capture of Poca- 
hontas by Captain Argall— She is Baptized— Marries John Rolfe — Sir Thomas 
Dale's Administration — Yeardley Governor — The first Legislative Assembly — 
Representative Government established in America — The Colonists obtain Wives — 
Changes in the Government 94 



CONTENTS. » 

CHAPTER VII. 

PROGRESS OF THE VIRGINIA COLONY. 

Introduction of Negro Slavery into Virginia — Efforts of the Assembly to Restrict 
Slavery— The Indians Attempt the Destruction of the Colony — Terrible Sufferings 
of the Whites — Aid from England — The Indian War Begun — King James Revokes 
the Charter of the London Company — Charles I. Desires a Monopoly of the 
Tobacco Trade — Action of the Assembly — Sir William Berkeley's First Adminis- 
tration — Severe Measures against Dissenters — Close of the Indian War — Death of 
Opechancanough— Emigration of Royalists to Virginia — Virginia and the Common- 
•wealth — Treaty with England — The Assembly Asserts its Independence of the 
Governor — The Restoration — Berkeley Chosen Governor by the AssemlDly — His 
Hypocrisy 113 

CHAPTER VIII. 

VIRGINIA AFTER THE RESTORATION. 

Characteristics of the Virginians — Causes of the Success of the Royalists — Growth of 
the Aristocratic Class — Berkeley decides against the People — The Aristocratic 
Assembly Claims the Right to sit Perpetually — Deprives the Common People of 
their Liberties — Revival of the Navigation Act by Charles II. — The King bestows 
Virginia as a Gift upon his Favorites — Protests of the Assembly — Growing Hostility 
of the Virginians to the Colonial Government — The Indian War — The Governor 
Refuses to allow the Colonists to Defend themselves — Nathaniel Bacon — He 
Marches against the Indians — Rebellion of the People against Berkeley and the 
Assembly — The Convention — Repeal of the Obnoxious Laws — Berkeley's Duplicity 
— The People take up Arms — Flight of Berkeley — Destruction of Jamestown — 
Death of Bacon — Causes of the Failure of the Rebellion — Berkeley's Triumph — 
Execution of the Patriot Leaders — Berkeley's Course Condemned by the King — 
Death of Berkeley — The Unjust Laws Re-enacted — Lord Culpepper Governor — His 
Extortions — James II. and Virginia — Effects upon Virginia of the Revolution of 
1688— William and Mary College Founded 121 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE COLONIZATION OF MARYLAND. 

Extent of the Territory of Virginia — Clayborne's Trading-Posts established — Sir 
George Calvert, Lord Baltimore — Becomes interested in American Colonization — 
Obtains a Grant of Maryland — Terras of the Charter — A Colony sent out — Arrival 
in the Chesapeake — St. Mary's Founded — Character of the Colony — Friendly Rela- 
tions established with the Indians — First Legislature of Maryland — Trouble with 
Clayborne — Rapid Growth of the Colony — Progress of Popular Liberty — Policy 
respecting the Treatment of the Indians — Clayborne's Rebellion — Law granting 
Religious Toleration enacted — Condition of Maryland under the Commonwealth — 
The People declared Supreme — Lord Baltimore recovers his Proprietary Rights — 
Characteristics of the Colony — Rapid Increase in Population — Charles Calvert, 
Governor — Death of the second Lord Baltimore — Roman Catholics disfranchised — 
Maryland becomes a Royal Province — Triumph of the Protestants — Annapolis 
made the Seat of Government — Restoration of the Proprietary Government — Con- 
tinued Prosperity of Maryland 136 



10 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X. 

THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 

Rise of the Puritans — Their Increase in England — They are Persecuted by the 
English Church and Government — Conduct of James I. — His Hatred of Puritan- 
ism — Puritans take Refuge in Holland — The Congregation of John Robinson — They 
Escape to Holland — The Pilgrims — Their Sojourn at Leyden — They wish to Emi- 
grate to Virginia — Failure of their Negotiations with the London Company — They 
form a Partnership in England — A Hard Bargain — Departure of the Pilgrims from 
Holland — Voyage of the "Mayflower" — Arrival in New England — The Agreement 
on board the " Mayflower " — Carver chosen Governor — Settlement of Plymouth — 
The first Winter in New England — SufTerings of the Pilgrims — Arrival of new 
Emigrants — Continued Suffering — Assignment of Lands— Friendly Literconrse 
with Indians— Samoset and Squanto — Visit of Massasoit — A Threat of War — 
Bradford's Defiance — Weston's Men — A Narrow Escape — The Colonists Purchase 
the Interests of their English Partners — Lands Assigned in Fee Simple — The 
ColoTiy Benefited by the Change — (ioveriunent of Plymouth — Steady Growth of the 
Colony 147 

CHAPTER XI. 

SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS AND RHODE ISLAND. 

Settlement of New Hampshire — The English Puritans determine to form a new 
Colony In America — The Plymouth Council — A Colony sent out to Salem under 
Endicott — Colonization of ]\Iassachusetts Bay begun — A Charter obtained — Conces- 
sions of the King — Progress of the Salem Colony — The Charter and Government 
of the Colony removed to New England — Arrival of Governor Winthrop — Settle- 
ment of Boston — Sufferings of the Colonists — Roger Williams — His Opinions give 
offence to the Authorities — The Success of the Bay Colony established — Growth of 
Popular Liberty— The Ballot Box — Banishment of Roger Willianis — He goes into 
the Wilderness — Founds Providence — Growth of Williams's Colony — Continued 
growth of Massachusetts — Arrival of Sir Henry Vane — Is elected Governor — Mrs. 
Anne Hutchinson — The Antinomian Controversy — Mi-s. Hutchinson banished — 
Settlement of Rhode Island — Murder of Mrs. Hutchinson 1G6 

CHAPTER XII. 

COLONIZATION OF CONNECTICUT. 

The Dutdi Claim the Connecticut Valley — They build a Fort at Hartford — Governor 
Winslow makes a Lodgment in Connecticut for the English — Withdrawal of the 
Dutch — The First Efforts of the English to Settle Connecticut — Emigration of 
Hooker and his Congregation — They Settle at Hartford — Winthrop builds a Fort 
at Saybrooke — Hostility of the Indians — Visit of Roger Williams to Miantonomoh 
— A Brave Deed — The Pcquoil War — Capture of the Indian Fort — Destruction of 
the Pe(]U()(l Tribe — Effect of tills War upon the other Tribes — Connecticut Adopts a 
Constitution — Its Peculiar Features — Settlement of New Haven ISO 



C02^ TENTS. 11 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE UNION OF THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES. 

Feeling of the Colonies towards England — Hostility of the English Government to 
New England — Efforts to Introduce Episcopacy — Massachusetts Threatens Resist- 
ance — The Revolution in England — Establishment of Free Schools in New Eng- 
land — Harvard College — The Printing Press — The Long Parliament Friendly to 
New England — The United Colonies of New England — Rhode Island obtains a 
Charter — Maine Annexed to Massaclmsetts — The Quakers are Persecuted — Efforts 
to Christianize the Indians — John Eliot, the Apostle to the Indians 188 

CHAPTER XIV. 

NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE RESTORATION. 

Arrival of the News of the Restoration of Charles 11. — The Regicides in New England 
— They are Protected — Revival of the Navigation Acts — Effect of this measure upon 
the New England Colonies — Massachusetts delays the Proclamation of the King — 
Connecticut obtains a Charter — Union of New Haven with the Connecticut Colony 
— Rhode Island given a new Charter — Massachusetts settles her difficulties with 
the Crown — Changes in the Government — High-handed acts of the Royal Commis- 
sioners — Troubles with the Indians — Injustice of the Whites — King Philip's War 
— A Forest Hero — An Incident in the Attack upon Hadley — Sufferings of the Colo- 
nies — Destruction of the Narragansetts — Death of Philip — Close of the War — Eng- 
land asserts her right to Tax the Colonies — Massachusetts buys Gorges* claims to 
Maine — New Hampshire made a separate Province— James II. revokes the Charter 
of Massachusetts — Dudley and Randolph in New England — Andros appointed 
Governor-General — His Tyranny— He demands the Charter of Connecticut — It is 
carried away and Hidden — The Charter Oak — Fall of James II. — The people of 
Massachusetts take up Arms — Andros arrested — Effects of the Revolution upon 
New England 198 

CHAPTER XV. 

WITCHCRAFT IN MASSACHUSETTS. 

Results of the Failure of Massachusetts to Resume her Charter — The New Charter — 
Loss of the Liberties of the Colony — Union of Plymouth with Massachusetts Bay — 
Belief in Witchcraft— The History of Witchcraft in Massachusetts— The Case of 
the Goodwin Children — Cotton Mather espouses the Cause of the Witches — 
Samuel Parris— He Originates the Salem Delusion— A Strange History— A Special 
Court Appointed for the Trial of the Witches— The Victims— Execution of the Rev. 
George Burroughs— Cotton Mather's Part in the Tragedies— The General Court 
takes Action in behalf of the People— End of the Persecution— Failure of Cotton 
Mather's Attempt to Save his Credit 216 



12 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XV/. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 

Voyages of Henry Hudson— He is Employed by the Dutch— Discovery of the Hud- 
son River— Early Dutch Voyages — Adrian Block — Fate of Hudson— The Dutch 
build a Fort on Manhattan Island— Settlement of New Amsterdam— The Province 
named New Netherlands— Fort Nassau— Peter Minuits Governor— The Dutch Set- 
tlement of Delaware— Wouter Van Twiller— Kieft Governor— His Unjust Treat- 
ment of the Indians — Massacre of the Indians at Hobokcn — The Indian ^Var— Stuy- 
vesant Appointed Governor — Disputes with the English in Connecticut — The Swedes 
Settle Delaware — Stuyvesant Captures the Swedish Forts — Growth of New Amster- 
dam — Disputes between the People and Governor — Growing Spirit of Popular Lib- 
erty — The People Appeal to the States General— Capture of New Netherlands by 
the English — The Name of the Province changed to New York — Eesults of the 
iMiglish Conquest — Progress of New Jersey — Andros Governor of New York— He 
Fails to Establish his Authority over Connecticut — New York allowed an Assem- 
bly — Discontents of the People — Leisler's Rebellion — Execution cf Leisler and 
Milbourne — Fletcher Governor — His Attempt to obtain Command of the Connect- 
icut Militia — Episcopacy Established in New York — The Freedom of the Press 
Sustained — New Jersey a Royal Province 228 

CHAPTER XVII. 

COLONIZATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

The Quakers — Their Origin and Doctrines — "William Penn — Becomes a Quaker — Is 
Persecuted for his Religious Opinions — Becomes Interested in American Coloniza- 
tion — Purchases West Jersey from the Proprietor — Conceives the Idea of Founding 
a Free State in America — Purchases Pennsylvania from Charles II. — Conditions of 
his Charter — Sends out a Colony — Arrival of Penn in America — Philadelphia 
Founded — Penn's Treaty with the Indians — Religious Toleration Guaranteed — 
Penn's Relations with his Colonists — Rapid Growth of Pennsylvania in Pojjula- 
tion and Prosperity — William Penn and James II. — Renewal of Penn's Troubles 
— William III. Declares Pennsylvania a Royal Province — Penn is Vindicated and 
Restored to his Proprietary Rights — His Return to Pennsylvania — Character of 
the Settlers of the Province — Penn Goes Back to England — Eflbrts to deprive him 
of his Possessions — His Death 255 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

SETTLEMENT OF THE CAROLINAS. 

Gradual Settlement of North Carolina from Virginia — Charles II. grants Carolina 
to Clarendon and others — The "Grand Model" — An Ideal Aristocracy. Proposed 
for Carolina — The Authority of the Proprietaries Established in North Carolina — 
Contimied Settlement of that Region — Characteristics of the Early Settlers of 
North Carolina — The People Reject the Grand Model — Hostility of England to the 
Colonial Commerce — Insurrection in North Carolina — Slothel Governor — .Settle- 
ment of South Carolina — Charleston Founded — The Proprietary Constitutions 
Rejected by South Carolina — Rapid Cirowth of the Colony — Introduction of Slavery 
— Characteristics of the Early Settlers of South Carolina — Eflbrts to Enforce the 



CONTENTS. 13 

Navigation Acts— Resistance of the People— The Proprietaries Abandon tlieir Con- 
stitutions— Archdale's Eeforms— Eeligious Intolerance — Establishment of the 
Church of England in South Carolina— Action of the Crown— Continued Pros- 
perity of South Carolina— Governor Moore Attacks St. Augustine— Failure of the 
Eflbrt— The Spaniards are Eepulsed in an Attempt to Capture Charleston— Indian 
War in North Carolina— The Tuscaroras Driven Northward— War with the Yem- 
inassees— Destruction of their Power — Separation of the Carolinas 270 

CHAPTER XIX. 

SETTLEMENT OP GEORGIA. 

General James Edward Oglethorpe— His Efforts to Eeform Prison Discipline of Eng- 
land—Proposes to Found a Colony in America for the Poor and for Prisoners for 
Debt— A Charter Obtained from the King— Colonization of Georgia— Savannah 
Settled— First Years of the Colony— Labors of Oglethorpe— Arrival of New Emi- 
grants—Augusta Founded— The Moravian Settlements— The Wesleys in America- 
George Whitefield— War between England and Spain— Oglethorpe Invades Florida 
—Failure of the Attack upon St. Augustine— The Spaniards Invade Georgia— Ogle- 
thorpe's Stratagem— Its Success— Battle of " Bloody Marsh " — Close of the War — 
Charges against Oglethorpe — His Vindication— His Return to Europe— Changes in 
the Colonial Government — Introduction of Slavery into Georgia — Prosperity of the 
Colony 286 

CHAPTER XX. 

THE FRENCH IN TPIE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

Origin of the Hostility of the Iroquois to the French— Settlement of Canada — Plans 
of the French respecting the Indians — The Jesuits — Their Work in America — 
Success of their Missions — The Early Missionaries — Foundation of a College at 
Quebec — Efforts of the Jesuits to Convert tlie Iroquois — Father Jogues — Death of 
Ahasistari — Father AUoiiez— The INIissions on the Upper Lakes — Father Marquette 
— His Exploration of the Upper Mississippi — Death of Marquette — La Salle — 
Efforts of France to Secure the Valley of the Mississippi — La Salle Descends the 
Mississippi to its Mouth--His Effort to Colonize the Lower Mississippi — The First 
Colony in Texas — Its Failure — Death of La Salle — Lemoine d'Ibberville — Settle- 
ment of Louisiana — Colony of Biloxi — Settlement of Mobile — Crozat's Monopoly 
— Founding of New Orleans — Detroit Founded— Slow Growth of the French Colo- 
nies—Occupation of the Ohio Valley by the French — Wars with the Indians — Ex- 
termmation of the Natchez Tribe — War with the Chickasaws 298 

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH COME IN CONFLICT. 

Relations between the English and the Five Nations — The Hostility of the Latter to 
the French — King W^illiam's War — Destruction of Dover — The Jesuit Missionaries 
incite the Indians to attack the English — Expedition against Quebec — Attack on 
Dustin's Farm — Peace of Eyswick — Hostility of the English to Eoman Catholics — 
Queen Anne's War — Burning of Deerfield — Eunice Williams — Cruelties of the 
French — Effort of New England to Conquer Acadia — Capture of Port Eoyal — 



14 CONTENTS. 

Failure of the Expedition against Quebec — King George's "War — Expedition 
against Louisburg — Its Composition — Arrival of the Fleet at Cape Breton — Good 
Conduct of the Provincials — Capture of Louisburg — Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle — 
Unjust Treatment of the Colonies by England — Sentiment of the Americans 
towards England 318 

CHAPTER XXII. 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

England Claims the Valley of the Oliio — Organization of the Ohio Company — The 
French extend tlioir Posts into tiie Ohio Country — Washington's Mission to the 
French at Fort Duquesnt — His Journey — Reception by tlie French — His Journey 
Home — A Perilous Undertaking — Organization of the Virginia Forces — "Washing- 
ton made Second in Command — Tlie French Drive the English from the Ifcad 
of the Oiilo — Fort Duquesne Built by them — Washington Crosses the Mountains 
— The Fight at Great Meadows — Beginning of the P'rencli and Indian War— Sur- 
render of Fort Necessity to the French — Unjust Treatment of the Colonial Officers 
— Congress of the Colonies at New York — Franklin's Plan of a Union of the Colo- 
nies — Its Failure — Reasons of the British Government for Rejecting it — England 
assumes the Direction of the AVar — Arrival of General Braddock — Plan of Cam- 
paign — Obstinacy of Braddock — He Passes the Mountains — Defeat of Braddock — 
Heroism of Washington — Retreat of Dunbar beyond the Mountains — \'igorous 
action of Pennsylvania — Armstrong defeats the Indians and burns the town of 
Kittanning 331 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR — CONTINUED. 

Expedition against Acadia — Brutal Treatment of the Acadians — They are Expelled 
from their Country — A Sad Story — Fate of the Acadians — Johnson at Lake Ojeorge 
— March of Dieskau — Battle of Lake George — Failure of Shirley's Expedition — 
Arrival of the Earl of Loudon — Montcalm in Canada— Capture of Oswego by the 
French — Outrages of the Earl of Loudon upon New York and Philadelphia — Ex- 
pedition against Louisburg — How the Earl of Loudon Beat the French — Cajiture of 
Fort William Henry by Montcalm — Massacre of the Prisoners by the Indians — 
Efforts of Montcalm to save them — The Royal Officers attempt to cover their Fail- 
ures by outraging the Colonies 356 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR — CONCLUDED. 

A Change for the Better — William Pitt Prime Minister — Vigorous Pleasures Adopted 
— Recall of the Earl of Loudon — Capture of Louisburg — Ahcrcroml)ie on Lake 
George — Advances against Tioonderoga — Death of Lord Howe — Failure of the 
Englisli attack upon Ticonderoga — Disgracefid conduct of Abercrombie — His Retreat 
— Capture of Fort Fronteiiac — Advance of General Forbes— Grant's Defeat — The 
Virginians again save the Regulars — Capture of Fort Duquesne — Washington retires 
from the Army — Ticonderoga and Crown Point occupied by the English — Capture 
of Fort Niagara — The Expedition against Quebec — Failure of the first Opera- 



CONTENTS. 15 

tions — Despondency of Wolfe — He Discovers a Landing-place — The Army scales 
the Heights of Abraham — Montcalm's Surprise — Battle of the Plains of Abrtiham 
— Death of Wolfe — Defeat of the French — Death of Montcalm — Surrender of 
Quebec — Capture of Montreal — Treaty of Paris — Canada ceded to England — France 
loses all her American Possessions— The Cherokee War — Hostility of the Indians 
to the English— Pontiac's War — Death of Pontiac — Bouquet relieves Fort Duquesne 
— Kesults of the War 369 

CHAPTER XXV. 

CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Injustice of Great Britain towards her Colonies — Tlie Navigation Acts — Effects of 
these Laws upon the Colonies — Great Britain seeks to destroy the Manufactures of 
America — Writs of Assistance — They are Opposed — Home Manufactures En- 
couraged by the Americans — Ignorance of Englishmen concerning America — Great 
Britain claims the Eight to Tax America — Eesistance of the Colonists — Samuel 
Adams — The Parsons' Cause — Patrick Henry — England persists in her Determina- 
tion to Tax America — Passage of the Stamp Act — Resistance of the Colonies — Meet- 
ing of the First Colonial Congress — Its Action — William Pitt — Repeal of the Stamp 
Act — Franklin before the House of Commons — New Taxes imposed upon America 
— Increased Resistance of the Colonies — Troops quartered in Boston — The " Mas- 
Bacre" — The Non-Importation Associations — Growth of Hostility to England- 
Burning of the "Gasp^" — The Tax on Tea retained by the King — Destruction of 
Tea at Boston — Wrath of the British Government — Boston Harbor Closed — Troops 
Quartered in Boston — The Colonies come to the Assistance of Boston— Action of 
the Virginia Assembly — General Gage in Boston — The Regulating Act — Its Failure 
— Gage seizes the Massachusetts Powder — Uprising of the Colony — Meeting of the 
Continental Congress — Its Action — Addresses to the King and People of England — 
The Earl of Chatham's Indorsement of Congress — The King remains Stubborn 390 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Gage fortifies Boston Neck — He summons the General Court — Recalls his Proclama- 
tion — The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts — It takes Measures for Defence — 
The Militia Organized — The Minute Men — Friends of America in England — Gage 
resolves to seize the Stores at Concord — Midnight March of the British Troops — The 
Alarm given — Skirmishes at Lexington and Concord — Retreat of the British — A 
terrible March — Uprising of New England — Boston Invested — Dunmore seizes the 
Virginia Powder — Is made to pay for it — Uprising of the Middle and Southern 
Colonies — Tlie Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence — Capture of Ticondcroga 
and Crown Point — Meeting of the Second Continental Congress — Congress resolves 
to sustain Massachusetts — Renewed Efforts for Peace — Congress assumes the General 
Government of the Colonies — A Federal Union Organized — Its Character— A Con- 
tinental Army formed — George AVashington appointed Connnander-in-chief — Gen- 
eral Officers appointed — Condition of the Army before Boston — Inaction of Gage — ■ 
Battle of Breed's Hill — A glorious Defence — The Battle equivalent to a Victory in 
its effects upon the Country — Arrival of Washington at Cambridge — He takes Com- 
mand of the Army — He reorganizes the Army — Difficulties of the undertaking — 
The Invasion of Canada resolved upon — March of Montgomery and Arnold — Rapid 



16 CONTENTS. 

Successes of Montgomery — He captures Montreal — March of Arnold through the 
Wilderness — Arrival before Quebec — Forms a Junction with Montgomery — The 
Siege of Quebec — The Ice Forts— Failure of the Attack — Death of Montgomery — 
Eetreat of the Americans from Canada — Lord Dunmore's War in Virginia — 
Destruction of Norfolk— The Thirteen United Colonies— Burning of Falmouth— 
Kaval Matters — Action of Great Britain — The War to be carried on — The Hessians. 421 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE DECLAEATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

The Siege of Boston — Difficulties of the American Army — Activity of the Privateers 
— Clinton's Expedition — Colonel Knox arrives from Ticonderoga with Cannon — 
Seizure of Dorcliester Heights by Washington — The British Evacuate Boston — 
Eovalist Plots in New York — Paper Money Issued by Congress — Gates sent to the 
North — The British Attack Charleston— Battle of Fort Moultrie — The Howes in 
New York Bay — Change in the Character of the War — Growing Sentiment in Favor 
of Independence — Virginia Proposes that the Colonies Assert their Independence — 
Action of Congress — The Declaration of Independence — Articles of Confederation 
Adopted by Congress — Lord Howe's Efforts at Conciliation — Addresses a Letter to 
Washington — Battle of Long Island — Defeat of the Americans — Retreat from Long 
Island — Evacuation of New York by the Americans — Loss. of Fort Washington — 
Wasliingtun Retreats through New Jersey — He Crosses the Delaware — Darkest 
Period of the War — Washington's Determination to Continue the War — Lord 
Howe's Proclamation — Its Effect — Congress at Baltimore — Carleton Invades New 
York — Defeats Arnold on Lake Champlain — Carleton Retires into Canada — Battle 
of Trenton — Happy Effects of the Mctory — Congress confers Dictatorial Powers 
upon Washington — Commissioners sent to Fraliee 450 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE YEAR 1777. 

Howe attempts to Crush Washington — Battle of Princeton — The British Confined to 
the Seaboard — Recovery of New Jersey — The American Army in Winter Quarters 
at Morristown — Effects of the American Successes — Difficulty of Procuring Troops 
— Washington Refuses to Exchange Prisoners — His Course Approved by Congress 
— Measures of Congress — Naval Affairs — Tryon Burns Danbury — Gallantry of Arnold 
— Troubles in the Northern Department — Congress Adopts a National Flag — " The 
Stars and Stripes" — Course of France towards tiie United States — France decides to 
Assist the Americans — Lafayette — His arrival in America — Capture of the British 
General Prescott — Howe tiireatens Piiiladelphia — Washington moves Southward — 
Battle of the Brandywine — Washington Retreats to the Schuylkill — Wayne's Defeat 
at Paoli — Piiiladelphia Evacuated by the Americans — It is Occupied by the British 
— Battle of Germantown — The British Attack the Forts on the Delaware — They 
are Abandoned by the Americans — Bur^oyne's Army in Canada — Advance of Bur- 
goyne into New York — Investment of Ticonderoga — It is Abandoned by the Ameri- 
cans — The Retreat to Fort Edw^ard — Burgoyne reaches the Hudson — Murder of 
!Miss McCrea — Siege of Fort Schuyler — Battle of Bennington — Critical Situation of 
Burgoyne — Gates in Command of tlie American Army — Battles of Behnuis' Heights 
and Stillwater — Surrender of Burgoyne's Army — Clinton in the Highlands 483 



CONTENTS. 17 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

AID FROM ABROAD. 

Sufferings of the Army at Valley Forge — Appeals of Washington to Congress — The 
British in Philadelphia — The Conway Cabal — Its Disgraceful Failure— Efforts to 
Improve the Army — Worthlessness of Continental Bills — General Lee Exchanged 
— Effect of Burgoyne's Surrender upon England — The King is Forced to Agree to 
Measures of Conciliation — Action of France — Louis XVI. Eecognizes the Inde- 
pendence of the United States — Alliance Between the United States and France — 
Failure of the British Measures of Conciliation — Clinton Evacuates Pliiladelphia — 
Battle of Monmouth — General Lee Dismissed from the Army — Attack upon New- 
port — Its Failure — Withdrawal of the French Fleet to the West Indies — Outrages 
of the British on Long Island Sound — Massacre of Wyoming — The Winter of 
1779-80 — The Army in Winter Quarters — Eobert Morris — Condition of Congress — 
Georgia Subdued by the British — Prevost Attempts to take Charleston — Siege of 
Savannah — Its* Failure — Capture of Stony Point — Capture of Paulus Hook— The 
Indians Punished — Naval Affairs — Exploits of John Paul Jones— Evacuation of 
Newport — Settlement of Kentucky — Conquest of the Illinois Country by George 
Rogers Clarke — Settlement of Tennessee 513 

CHAPTER XXX. 

THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 

Severity of the Winter of 1779-80 — Sufferings of the American Army — Clinton Sails 
for the Carolinas — Colonel Tarleton — Capture of Charleston — Conquest of South 
Carolina — Gates in Command of the Southern Army — Battle of Camden — Exploits 
of Marion and Sumter — Advance of Cornwallis — Battle of King's Mountain — Gates 
Succeeded by General Greene — Knyphausen's Expeditions into New Jersey — 
Arrival of the French Fleet and Army — Arnold's Treason — The Plot for the Be- 
trayal of West Point — Arrest of Major Andr^ — Flight of Arnold — Execution of 
Andr^ — Mutiny of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Troops — Measures of Con- 
gress — Arnold Captures Richmond, Virginia — Battle of the Cowpens — Masterly Re- 
treat of General Greene — Cornwallis Baffled — Battle of Guilford Court House — 
Cornwallis at Wilmington — Battle of Hobkirk's Hill — Siege of Ninety-Six — Execu- 
tion of Colonel Hayne — Battle of Eutaw Springs — Washington Decides to Attack 
New York — The French Army on the Hudson — Financial Affairs — Resumption of 
Specie Payments — Message from the Count De Grasse — Cornwallis at Yorktown — 
The American Army Moves Southward — Siege of Yorktown — Surrender of Corn- 
wallis — Effect of the News in England — Indian Troubles — Efforts in England for 
Peace — Negotiations Opened — Treaty of Paris — End of the War — The Army Dis- 
banded — Washington Resigns his Commission 536 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION — WASHINGTON'S ADMINIS- 
TRATION. 

Unsettled Condition of the Country — Failure of the Articles of Confederation — Desire 
for Reform — Meeting of the Federal Convention at Philadelphia — The Constitution 
of the United States — Adoption of a Decimal Currency — The Northwest Territory 



18 CONTENTS. 

— AVashington Elected President — His Journey to New York — Establishment of the 
New CJovernmont — The First Cabinet — Financial Measures — Removal of the Capi- 
tal agreed upon — Tlie Government at Philadelphia — The First Census — The In- 
dians of the Northwest Conquered — Pe-election of Washington — Division of Par- 
ties — Tiie French Kevolution — The United States Neutral — Citizen G^net — Efforts 
to Commit the United States to the French Alliance — Genet's Pecall Demanded — 
Tlie " AVhiskey Insurrection " — Jay's Treaty Avith England — Opposition to it — Ne- 
gotiations with Algiers — Political Disputes — Hostility to Washington — His Fare- 
well Address — Its Effect upon the Country — Election of John Adams to the Presi- 
dency — Admission of Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee — Eetirement of Wash- 
ington — Kesults of his Administration 570 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF JOHN ADAMS AND THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

Inauguration of John Adams — Aggressions of France upon the United States — The 
American Commissioners Insulted by the French Government — The Alien and Se- 
dition Laws — The United States Prepare for War with France — France Signifies 
her Willingness to Treat — New Commissioners appointed — Settlement of the Dis- 
pute — Hostilities at Sea — Capture of the "Insurgente" and " Vengeance" — Death of 
Washington — Removal of the Capital to Washington City — The Second Census — 
Inaugination of Thomas Jefferson — The President's Message — His First Measures 
— Admission of Ohio — Louisiana Purchx'^ed by the United States — War with the 
Barbary Powers — Burning of the " Philadelphia" — Re-election of Mr. Jefferson — 
Aaron Burr Kills Alexander Hamilton in a Duel — Burr's Subsequent Career — 
Fulton's Steamboat — Outrages of England and France upon American Commerce 
— American Vessels Searched and American Seamen Impressed by England — 
Efforts to Settle these Questions — Afliiir of the " Chesapeake " and " Leopard " — 
The Embargo — Results of this Measure — Losses of the Eastern States — Election 
of James Madison to the Presidency — Repeal of the Embargo — Retirement of Mr. 
Jefferson •. 58.^ 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADISON — THE SECOND WAR WITH 

ENGLAND. 

Inauguration of Mr. Madison — Negotiations with Mr. Erskine — Their Failure — Seiz- 
ure of American Vessels in France — Sufferings of American Ship- Owners — Great 
Britain Stations her Ships of War off American Ports — Affair of the "President" 
and "Little Belt" — Trouble with the Northwestern Indians — Tecumseh — Battle of 
Tippecanoe — Meeting of the Twelfth Congress — Measures for Defence — Admission 
of Louisiana into the Union — Death of George Clinton — The British Ultimatum — 
War Declared against Great Britain — Opposition to the War — The British Offer 
of Settlement Rejected — The War for "Free Trade and the Sailors' Rights"— Mr. 
Madison Re-elected — Campaign of 1812 — Preparations for the Invasion of Canada 
— General Hull Surrenders Detroit to the British — Loss of the Northwestern Fron- 
tier — Failure of the Attack on Queenstown — Exploits of the Navy — Capture of the 
" Guerriere " by the " Constitution " — The Privateers — Russia offers to Mediate 
between the United States and England — Financial Affairs — Harrison's Campaign 
— Massacre at the River Raisin — Defence of Forts Meigs and Stephenson — Periy'a 



CONTENTS. 19 

Victory on Lake Erie — Battle of the Thames — Death of Tecuraseh — Recovery 
of the Northwest — Capture of York — British Attack on Saekett's Harbor Repulsed 
— Removal of General Dearborn — Failure of tlie Campaign on the Lower Lakea 
— The Creek War — Jackson's Victories — Naval Affairs — The British Outrages in 
Chesapeake Bay — Negotiations for Peace — Capture of Fort Erie — Battles of Chip- 
pewa and Lundy's Lane — Siege of Fort Erie — Successes of the Americans — Advance 
of Prevost — Battle of Plattsburgh — Macdonough's Victory on Lake Champlain — 
Battle of Bladensburg — Capture of Washington — Destruction of the Public Build- 
ings by the British — Attack on Baltimore — Death of General Ross — " The Star- 
Spangled Banner" — The British Attack on the New England Coast — Opposition 
of New England to the War — The Hartford Convention — The British in Florida 
— General Jackson expels them — Jackson at New Orleans — Arrival of the British 
Expedition off the Coast — Vigorous Measures of Jackson — Battle of New Orleans 
— Defeat of the British — Naval Affairs — The Treaty of Peace — The Barbary Powers 
Humbled — The Tariff — The Bank of the United States — Admission of Indiana — 
James Monroe elected President 600 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF JAMES MONEOE AND JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

Inauguration of Mr. Monroe^His Tour through the Eastern States — Admission of 
Mississippi into the Union — Troubles with the Indians — General Jackson's Vigorous 
Measures against the Spaniards in Florida — Purchase of Florida by the United 
States — Illinois becomes a State — The First Steamship — Maine admitted into the 
Union — The Slavery Question — The Missouri Compromise — Admission of Missouri 
as a State — The Fourth Census — Re-election of Mr. Monroe — The Tariff— Protec- 
tive Policy of the Government — Recognition of the Spanish Republics — The Mon- 
roe Doctrine — Visit of Lafayette to the United States — Retirement of Mr. Monroe 
— John Quincy Adams elected President — His Inauguration — Rapid Improvement 
of the Country — Increase of Wealth and Prosperity — Internal Improvements — The 
Creek Lands in Georgia ceded to the United States — Death of Thomas Jefferson 
and Jolin Adams — The Anti-Masons — The Tariff of 1828 — Andrew Jackson elected 
President of the United States 646 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF ANDREW JACKSON AND MARTIN VAN BUREN. 

Character of Andrew Jackson — Indian Policy of this Administration — The President 
Vetoes the Bill to Renew the Cliarter of the United States Bank — Debate between 
Hayne and Webster — Jackson's Quarrel with Calhoun — Death of ex-President Mon- 
roe—The Cholera — Black Hawk's War — Re-election of President Jackson — The 
Tariff— Action of South Carolina — The Nullification Ordinance — Firmness of the 
President — The Matter settled by Compromise — Patriotism of Henry Clay — The 
Removal of the Deposits— The Seminole War begun — Great Fire in New York 
— Settlement of the French Claims — Arkansas admitted into the Union — The 
National Debt Paid — Death of ex-President Madison — Martin Van Buren elected 
President— Michigan admitted into the Union — The Panic of 1837 — Causes of it — 
Suspension of Specie Payments — Great Distress throughout the Union — The Sub- 
Treasury — Repudiation of State Debts — The Canadian Rebellion — The President's 



20 CONTENTS. 

Course — The Seminole "War ended — The Anti-Slavery Party— Resolutions of Con- 
gress respecting Slavery — William Henry Harrison elected President— The Sixth 
Census GGO 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON AND JOHN TYLER. 

An Extra Session of Congress Summoned— Death of President Harrison — John Tyler 
becomes President of the United States— Meeting of Congress— The Bankrupt Law 
— President Tyler Vetoes the Bills to Revive the United States Bank — His Quar- 
rel with his Party— The " Tyler Whigs"— The Tariff of 1S42— The Treaty of Wasli- 
ington — The United States will not Tolerate the Exercise of the Right of Search 
— Dorr's Rebellion — The Mormons— Invention of the Pvlectric Telegraph — Explo- 
sion on the " Princeton " — Efforts to Secure the Annexation of Texas — Early History 
of Texas — The Texan "War of Independence — Battle of San Jacinto — Texan Inde- 
pendence Established — Texas Applies for Admission into the Union — Opposition to 
the Pleasure — Significance of the Vote at the Presidential Election — James K. Pulk 
Elected President — Texas admitted into the Union — Iowa and Florida become States. GSl 

CHAPTBR XXXVII. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES K. POLK — THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 

The Oregon Question — Position of President Polk respecting it — The Question Settled 
— Treaty for Settlement of Claims against Mexico — Mexico Resents tlie Annexa- 
tion of Texas — General Taylor Ordered to Texas — He Advances to the Rio Grande 
— Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma — The War with Mexico Begun — 
Invasion of Mexico — Occupation of Matamoras — Action of the United States Govern- 
ment — Taylor Advances into the Interior — The Storming and Capture of Monterey 
— The Armistice— Return of Santa Anna to Mexico — President Polk Duped — Santa 
Anna Seizes the Mexican Government — General Wool Joins General Taylor — 
Troops Taken from Taylor's Army — Advance of tlie ^Mexicans — Battle of Buena Vista 
— Conquest of California by Fremont and Stockton — Occupation of Santa Fe — New 
Mexico Conquered — Doniphan's March — Occupation of Chihuahua — Sailing of 
Scott's Expedition — Reduction of Vera Cruz — Santa Anna Collects a New Army — 
Battle of Cerro Gordo— Occupation of Puebla by Scott— Trouble with Mr. Trist — 
Vigorous Measures of Santa Anna — Scott Advances upon the City of Mexico — El 
Pcfion Turned— Battles of Contreras and Churubusco — Capture of Molino del Roy 
— Storming of Chapultepec — Capture of the City of Mexico — Siege of Puebla 
Raised — Flight of Santa Anna — Treaty of Peace Negotiated — Close of the War — 
Acquisition of California and New Mexico — Discovery of Gold in California — 
Rapid Emigration to the Pacific — Death of John Quincy Adams — The Wilmot 
Proviso — Revival of the Slavery Question — General Taylor elected President G95 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF ZACHARY TAYLOR AND MILLARD FILLMORE. 

Character of General Taylor — Department of the Interior — Death of ex-President 
Polk — The Slavery Agitation — Views of Clay and Webster — California asks admis- 
sion into the Union — Message of President Taylor — The Omnibus Bill — Efforts of 
Henry Clay — A Memorable Debate — Webster's "Great Union Speech" — Death of 



CONTENTS. 21 

■ v 

John C. Calhoun — Death of President Taylor — Millard Fillmore becomes President 
— Passage of the Couiproniise Measures of 1850 — Death of Henry Clay — Dissatisfac- 
tion with the Compromise — The Fugitive Slave Law NuUitied, by the Northern 
States — The Nashville Convention — Organization of Utah Territory — The Seventh 
Census — The Expedition of Ijopez against Cuba — The Search for Sir John Franklin 
— TheGrinnell Expedition — Dr. Kane's Voyages — Inauguration of Cheap Postage — 
Laying the Corner-stone of the new Capitol — Death of Daniel Webster — Arrival of 
Kossuth — Tlie President Rejects the Tripartite Treaty — Franklin Pierce elected 
President — Death of William R. King 736 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 

Dispute with Mexico — The Gadsden Purchase — Surveys for a Pacific Railway — The 
Japan Expedition — Treaty with Japan — The Koszta Affair — The " Black Warrior" 
seized by the Cuban Officials — The "Ostend Conference" — Dismissal of the British 
Minister — ^The Kansas-Nebraska Bill — History of the Bill — Its Passage by Congress 
— History of the Struggle in Kansas — Conflict between the Pro-Slavery and Free 
Soil Settlers — Lawrence Sacked — Civil War — The Presidential Campaign of 1856 
— James Buchanan elected President of the United States — Rapid increase of the 
Republican Party 749 

CHAPTER XL. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Inauguration of Mr. Buchanan — The Mormon Rebellion — The Financial Crisis of 1857 
— Laying of the Atlantic Telegraphic Cable — Minnesota admitted into the Union — 
The San Juan Affair — Admission of Oregon into the Union — The Kansas question 
— The Lecompton Constitution — Its defeat — The Wyandotte Constitution — Admis- 
sion of Kansas into the Union — The John Brown Raid — Prompt action of the Gov- 
ernment — Brown and his Companions surrendered to the State of Virginia — Their 
Trial and Execution — Presidential Campaign of 1860 — Rupture of the Democratic 
party — Abraham Lincoln elected President of the United States — Secession of South 
Carolina— Reasons for this Act — Secession of the other Cotton States— Major Ander- 
son occupies Fort Sumter — Trying position of the General Government— Course 
of Mr. Buchanan— The " Star of the West " fired upon by the South Carolina Bat- 
teries — Organization of the Confederate States of America — Jefferson Davis elected 
President of the Southern Republic— The Peace Congress— Its Failure 761 

CHAPTER XLI. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN — ^THE CIVIL WAR. 

Inauguration of President Lincoln — His History — The Confederate Commissioners 
at Wasliington — Attack upon Fort Sumter by the Confederates — The President calls 
for Troops — Response of the North and West — Secession of the Border States — 
Opening Events of the War in Virginia — Withdrawal of West Virginia — Admitted 
into the LTnion as a separate State — Meeting of Congress — The West Virginia Cnm- 
paign — Battle of Bull Run — The War in Missouri — Kentucky Occupiod — The 
Blockade — Capture of Port Roy:il — Tlie " Trent " Affair — Insurrection in East Ten- 



22 CONTENTS. 

nessee — State of Affairs at the Opening of the Year 1862 — Edwin M. Stanton made 
Secretary of War — Capture of Forts Henry and Donelson — The Confederates fall 
back from Kentucky — Battle of Shiloh — Capture of Island No. 10 — Evacuation 
of Corinth — Capture of Memphis — Bragg's Kentucky Campaign — His Retreat into 
Tennessee — Battles of luka and Corinth — Battle of Murfreesboro', or Stone River — 
Grant's Campaign against Vicksburg — Its Failure — The War beyond the Missis- 
sippi — Battle of Pea Ridge — Capture of Roanoke Island — Capture of New Orleans 
— Surrender of Fort Pulaski — The War in Virginia — Johnston's Retreat from Cen- 
treville — Battle between the "Monitor" and "Virginia" — The Move to the Peninsula 
— Johnston Retreats to the Chickahominy — Battle of Seven Pines — Jackson's Suc- 
cesses in the Valley of Virginia — The Seven Days' Battles before Ricliraond — Battle 
of Cedar Mountain — Defeat of General Pope's Army — Lee Invades Maryland 
— Capture of Harper's Ferry — Battles of South Mountain and Antietam — Retreat 
of Lee into Virginia — McClellan Removed — Battle of Fredericksburg 779 

CHAPTER XLII. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN — THE CIVIL WAR — 

CONCLUDED. 

The Emancipation Proclamation — Battle of Chancellorsville — Death of Stonewall 
Jackson — Invasion of the North by Lee's Army — Battle of Gettysburg — Retreat of 
Lee into Virginia — Grant's Army crosses the Mississippi — Battle of Champion Hills 
— Investment of Vicksburg — Surrender of Vicksburg and Port Hudson — Battle 
of Cliickamauga — Rosecrans shut up in Chattanooga — Grant in command of the 
Western Armies — Battles of Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge — Defeat of 
Bragg's Army — The Campaign in East Tennessee — Retreat of Longstreet — Capture 
of Galveston — Attack on Charleston — Capture of Fort Wagner — Charleston Bom- 
barded — State of Affairs in the Spring of 1864 — The Red River Expedition — Grant 
made Lieutenant-General — Advance of the Army of the Potomac — Battles of tlie 
Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbor — Sheridan's Raid — Deatli of General 
J. E. B. Stuart — Battle of New Market — Early sent into tlie Valley of Virginia — 
Butler's Army at Bermuda Hundreds — Grant crosses the James Riv.er — The Siege 
of Petersburg begun — Early's Raid upon Washington — Sheridan defeats Early at 
Winchester and Fisher's Hill — Battle of Cedar Creek — The final Defeat of Early's 
Army — Sherman's Advance to Atlanta — Johnston removed — Defeat of Hood before 
Atlanta— Evacuation of Atlanta— Hood's Invasion of Tennessee— Battle of Franklin 
—Siege of Nashville— Hood defeated at Nasliville— His Retreat— Sherman's 
"March to the Sea"— Capture of Savannah— Battle of Mobile Bay— Attack on 
Fort Fisher— The Confederate Cruisers— Sinking of the "Alabama" by the " Kear- 
sarge" — Re-election of President Lincoln — Admission of Nevada into the Union — 
The Hampton Roads Peace Conference — Capture of Fort I'isher— Occupation of 
Wilmintrton — Sherman advances tlirough South Carolina — Evacuation of Charles- 
ton — Bnttles of Averasboro' and Bentonvillc — Sherman at Goldsboro' — Critical 
situation of Lee's Army — Attack on Fort Steadman — Sheridan joins Grant — 
Advance of Grant's Army — Battle of Five Forks — Attack on Petersburg — Evacua- 
tion of Riclimond and Petersburg — Retreat of Lee's Army — Richmond occupied — 
SuRRExnKR of General Lee's Army — Rejoicings in the North — Assassination of 
President I^incoln — Death of Booth — Execution of the Conspirators — Johnston Sur- 
renders — Surrender of the other Confederate Forces — Capture of Jefferson Davis — 
Close of the War 825 



CONTENTS. 23 

CHAPTER XL///. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OP ANDREW JOHNSON. 

The New President — Eetura of the Array to Civil Life — The Public Dcljt — The 
Reconstruction Question — Action of the President — He declares the Southern States 
Eeadmitted into the Union — The Fifteenth Amendment — Meeting of Congress — 
The President's Acts Annulled — Beconstruction Policy of Congress — The Four- 
teenth Amendment — The Freedman's Bureau and Civil Eiglits Bills — The Tenure 
of Office Act — Admission of Nebraska into the Union — The Southern States Organ- 
ized as Military Districts — Admission of Southern States into the Union — The 
Fourteenth Amendment Ratified — President Johnson's Quarrel with Secretary 
Stanton — Impeachment of the President — His Acquittal — Eele;i«e of Jefferson Davis 
— Indian War — The French in Mexico — Fall of the Mexican Empire — Laying of 
the Atlantic Telegraph — Purchase of Alaska — Naturalization Treaty with Germany 
— Treaty with China — Death of General Scott — Death of ex-President Buciianan — 
General Grant Elected President — The Fifteenth Amendment 805 

CHAPTER XL/V. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF ULYSSES S. GRANT. 

Early Life of President Grant — Completion of the Pacific Railway — Death of ex-Presi- 
dent Pierce — The Fifteenth Amendment Ratified — Prosperity of the Country — The 
Enforcement Act — The Test-oath Abolished — The Constitutionality of the Legal- 
Tender Act Affirmed — Death of Admiral Farragut — Death of General Lee — The 
Income Tax Repealed — The Alabama Claims — Treaty of Washington — The Geneva 
Conference — Award in favor of the United States — The San Juan Boundary Ques- 
tion settled — Efforts to annex St. Domingo — Burning of Chicago — Forest Fires — 
The Civil Disabilities removed from the Southern People — Re-election of General 
Grant — Death of Horace Greeley — Great Fire at Boston — The Modoc War — Mur- 
der of General Canby and the Peace Commissioners — Execution of the INIodoc 
Chiefs — The Cuban Revolution — Capture of the "Virginius" — Execution of the 
Prisoners — Action of the Federal Government — The Panic of 1873 — Bill for the • 
Resumption of Specie Payments — Preparations for the Centennial Exhibition 879 

CHAPTER XLV. 

Conclusion 899 

APPEND/X. 

The Centenniat. Exhibition 907 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



^ 1. Steel Portrait of George Washington Frontispiece 

^. Steel Portrait of Abraham Lincoln " 

3. Front View of the Capitol at Washington, D. C " 

^4. Signatures of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence " 

5. Memorial Hall or Art Gallery — International Centennial Exhibition " 

6. Main Building of the International Exhibition " ~ 

7. The United States Treasury, Washington, D. C " 

8. The new Department of State, Washington, D. C ."- " 

9. Signing the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress, 

July 4th, 1776 " 

^10. Birdseye View of New York city " 

11. Indian Village in Winter 35 

12. Navajo Boy 36 

13. Pueblo Indian at Prayer , 38 

14. Converted Indian AVoraan 39 

15. A Dead Town of the Moquis Indians 40 

16. Indian of the Plains 41 

17. Group of Indians of New Mexico 43 

18. Lower Falls of the Yellowstone, Wyoming (350 feet in height) 44 

19. Christopher Columbus 46 

• 20. Bronze Door commemorating the Deeds of Christopher Columbus 49 

21. Tlie Landing of Columbus 51 

22. General View of the Yosemite Valley, California 58 

23. Bridal Veil Fall, Yosemite Valley. .'. 59 

24. Sentinel Kock, Yosemite Valley 61 

25. First Winter of the French in Canada 64 

26. Rock Pinnacles above Tower Falls, Yellowstone Eiver 66 

27. Scene on the St. Lawrence 67 

28. The Coast of Florida 69 

29. Spaniards enslaving the Indians 73 

30. Spanish Exploring Party Discovering New Mexico 73 

31. Tiie Spaniards exploring the Valley of the Colorado 74 

32. Ferdinand de Soto 75 

33. Natclicz in 1875 79 

34. The Spaniards descending the Mississippi after the Death of De Soto 80 

35. Sir Walter Raleigli 87 

36. Tlie Coast of North Carolina 89 

37. Coat of Arms of Virginia 95 

38. Captain John Smith 98 

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 25 

39. Pocahontas rescuing Captain Smith •• 100 

40. Pocahontas 102 

41. Building of Jamestown 104 

42. Wife of a Chief 107 

43. Destruction of the Virginia Settlements by the Indians 123 

44. Ruined Church Tower on the Site of Jamestown 130 

45. Coat of Arms of Maryland 137 

46. Lord Baltimore 138 

47. Missionary Preaching to the Indians 139 

48. A Converted Indian 141 

49. The " Mayflower " in Plymouth Harbor 154 

50. Landing of the Pilgrims 158 

51. The first Church in New England 160 

52. A New England Homestead 165 

53. Coat of Arms of Massachusetts 167 

54. A primitive New England Village 168 

55. Roger Williams 172 

56. Coat of Arms of Rhode Island 175 

57. Landing of Roger Williams at Providence 176 

58. Coat of Arms of Connecticut 181 

59. Yale College 185 

60. Valley of the Connecticut 187 

61. Harvard College 190 

62. An American Free School 191 

63. Newport, R. 1 197 

64. King Philip 204 

65. Attack upon Brookfield by the Indians 207 

66. Coat of Arms of New Hampshire 210 

67. Wadsworth hiding the Charter 212 

68. The Charter Oak 213 

69. Coat of Arms of New York 229 

70. First Settlement cf New York 232 

71. Coat of Arms of Delaware 233 

72. The Battery and Castle Garden, New York, in 1875 242 

73. The City Hall Park, New York, in 1875 243 

74. Coat of Arms of New Jersey 244 

75. Broadway, New York, in 1875 246 

76. Nassau Street, New York, in 1875 251 

77. The Post Office, New York, in 1875 253 

78. Coat of Arms of Penn.sylvania 256 

79. William Penn 258 

80. Penn's Treaty with the Indians 261 

81. Penn laying out the Plan of Philadelphia 262 

82. Settlement of Philadelphia 263 

83. Penn's Treaty Monument 264 

84. Che.stnut Street, Philadelphia, in 1875 ] ... 265 

85. University of Pennsylvania 266 

86. Masonic Temple, Philadelphia, in 1875 268 

87. Coat of Arms of North Carolina.. , 271 

88. A Settler's Cabin '. 275 

89. Coat of Arms of South Carolina 276 

90. Attack of the Spaniards on Charleston in 1706 282 



26 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

91. Torture of Lawson by the Tuscaroras 283 

92. Coat of Arms of Georgia 287 

93. Oglethorpe 288 

94. A Southern Plantation 289 

95. Gathering Sugar-cane 293 

96. The Great Canon and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone 299 

97. Duluth, at the head of Lake Superior 302 

98. Dubuque, Iowa 304 

99. Alton, Illinois 310 

100. Falls of St. Anthony 312 

101. Humboldt Palisades, Pacific Railway 315 

102. Burning of Dover 319 

103. Burning of Deerfield, Massachusetts 323 

104. Return of the Daughter of Eunice Williams to the Indians 325 

105. The Bronze Door in the National Capitol commemorating the Events of the Life 

of George Washington 334 

106. The Washington Statue in Union Square, New York 337 

107. Washington's Journey to the Ohio 338 

108. The Half King 340 

109. Washington and Gist crossing the Alleghany 341 

110. Benjamin Franklin 345 

111. Wills' Creek Narrows, Maryland 348 

112. Braddock's Defeat 351 

113. Retreat of Braddock's Army 352 

114. Burning of Kittanning by General Armstrong 354 

1 15. Scene on the Colorado 3(30 

116. Site of Fort William Henry on Lake George 305 

117. Wolfe's Attack on Louisburg 371 

118. Abercrombie's Expedition on Lake George 372 

119. Attack on Ticonderoga 373 

120. Investment of Fort Frontenac 374 

121. Birdseye View of Pittsburgh 377 

122. Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga 379 

123. General James Wolfe 381 

124. Death of General Wolfe before Quebec 383 

125. Pontiac 387 

126. Samuel Adams 394 

127. Patrick Henry 396 

128. George the Third 399 

129. Stamp Act Official beaten by the People 402 

130. Faneuil Hall in 1775 406 

131. The Boston Massacre 407 

132. Destruction of Tea in Boston Harbor 412 

133. John Hancock 414 

134. Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia 417 

135. Harbor of New York in 1875 419 

136. The Minute Man 422 

137. The Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775 424 

138. Ikitish Troops on Concord Common 425 

139. The Fight at Concord Bridge 427 

140. Retreat of the British from Lexington 428 

141. Capture of Ticonderoga by Allen 429 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 27 

142. Independence Hall in 1776 431 

143. Washington 434 

144. General Israel Putnam 435 

145. Bunker Hill Monument 437 

146. Battle of Bunker Hill 441 

147. Arnold's March to Quebec 445 

148. General Eichard Montgomery 446 

149. General Henry Knox 451 

150. Siege of Boston 452 

151. Washington watching the British evacuate Boston 453 

152. Medal struck by Congress in Honor of the Recapture of Boston 455 

153. Attack on Fort Moultrie 457 

154. Sergeant Jasper at Fort Moultrie ' 458 

155. Independence Hall, Philadelphia, in 1875 460 

156. Interior of Independence Hall 461 

157. View in the Grand Canon of the Colorado river 463 

158. Old Bell of Independence Hall 464 

159. Declaration of Independence proclaimed in Philadelphia 465 

160. General John Sullivan 470 

161. The Retreat from Long Island 471 

162. Retreat of Washington across New Jersey 475 

163. General Charles Lee 476 

164. Washington Crossing the Delaware 480 

165. Battle of Trenton 481 

166. College of New Jersey, at Princeton 484 

167. Battle of Princeton 485 

168. United States Navy Yard, Brooklyn 488 

169. General Philip Schuyler 491 

170. Lafayette 493 

171. Lafoyette offering his Services to Dr. Franklin 494 

172. Scene on the Wissahickon 495 

173. Battle of the Brandywine '. 496 

174. The Scliuylkill, at Philadelphia 497 

175. The Battle of Germantown— Chew's House 499 

176. Attack on Red Bank 500 

177. Albany, New York, in 1875 501 

178. Siege of Fort Schuyler 503 

179. Burgoyne's Encampment on the Hudson 504 

180. General John Stark 505 

181. Battle of Bennington 506 

182. General Horatio Gates * 508 

183. Burgoyne's Retreat 510 

184. Surrender of Burgoyne 511 

185. Sufferings of the Troops at Valley Forge 514 

186. Sir Henry Clinton 520 

187. Surrender of Savannah 524 

188. General Benjamin Lincoln 526 

189. General Anthony Wayne 528 

190. Storming of Stony Point 529 

191. Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Lee 530 

■1P2. John Paul Jones '. 531 

193. Coat of Arms of Kentucky 531 



28 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

194. Daniel Boone 532 

Vd'i. General Oeorge Rogers Ciurke S^Ii 

19G. Frankfort, Kentucky 034 

197. Coat of Anns of TennesHee 535 

198. Charleston, Soiitli Carolina, in 1875 537 

199. (icneral Francis Marion 541 

200. Battle of King's Mountain 542 

201. General Nathaniel Greene 544 

202. Arnold \ .... 546 

203. An(lr<5 547 

204. Capture of Major Andrd 548 

205. West Point in 1875 549 

200. Battle of the Cowpons 552 

207. (Jeneral Daniel Morgan 553 

208. Battle of Kutaw Springu 556 

209. Continental Bills 559 

210. Scene in the Ilighlanda of the Hudson 5G0 

21 1. Burning of New London, Connecticut, hy Arnold 502 

212. Lafayette storming the Ilcdoubt at Yorktown 503 

213. Surrender of Corn wall is 5G4 

214. The Bowery, New York, in 1875 507 

215. Washington resigning his Commission 508 

216. Great Seal of the United States 572 

217. Washington receiving the Intelligence of his Election .• 573 

21 8. President Washington 574 

219. Battle of the Maumee 576 

220. Coat of Arms of Vermont 580 

221. Mount Vernon 531 

222. John Adams 5S4 

223. Boston in 1875 586 

224. The Siis(jueh:inna above Ilarrisburg, Pennsylvania 588 

225. Thomas Jenerson 589 

226. The White House, Washington City '. 500 

227. Coat of Anns of Ohio 592 

228. Lafayette Square, New Orleans 503 

229. A New Jersey Fruit Farm 597 

230. James Madison 001 

231. Falls of the (knesee, at Rochester, New York 002 

232. Superior Street, Cleveland, Ohio 6'>3 

233. Oswego, New York, in 1875 006 

234. Coat of Arms of Louisiana 007 

235. Canon of the Lodore and Greene Rivers, Wyoming Terrifory 008 

236. Wooihvard Avenue, Detroit, Michigan *'>1 1 

237. Commodore Hull 014 

238. Commodore Bainbridge 015 

239. Defence of Fon Meigs 017 

240. Defence of Fort Stephenson 018 

241. Death of Tecumsd. 019 

242. Death of CJeneral Pike 020 

243. Attack \\\nm Siickett's Ilnrbor 021 

244. Niagara Fails 025 

245. (ieneral Winlield Scolt in 1814 626 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 29 

246. Battle of Lundy's Lane 627 

247. vSiege of Fort Erie 628 

248. Scene of the Battle of Lake Champlain 629 

249. Macdonough'H Victory on Lake Champlain 630 

250. View on the Greene Kiver at the Crossing of the Union Pacific Railroad 632 

251. The General Post-office, Wa-shington City 634 

252. Battle Monument, Baltimore, erected in Memory of those who fell at North Point. 635 

253. Jackson Square, New Orleans 637 

254. The Plain of Chalmette — Scene of the Battle of New Orleans 039 

255. Battle of New Orleans CIO 

256. Tlie " J lornet " and the " Penguin " C42 

257. Commodore Decatur 613 

258. Coat of Arms of Indiana 645 

259. James Monroe 646 

260. Coat of Arms of Missis.-iippi 647 

261. Coat of Anns of Illinois 648 

262. Coat of Arms of Alabama 649 

263. Coat of Arms of Maine 649 

264. Cotton Plantation 650 

265. Coat of Arms of Missouri 654 

266. .John ( >uincy Adams 656 

267. Daniel Webster 659 ' 

268. Andrew Jackson 661 

269. State House at Raleigh, North Carolina 662 

270. State House, Concord, New Hampshire 663 

271. Scene in the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky 6G4 

272. General Atkinson's Defeat of Black Hawk 665 

273. John C. CaDioun 607 

274. Ilcnry Clay 668 

275. Great Fire in New York 670 

276. Coat of Arms of Arkansas 671 

277. Coat of Arms of Michigan 672 

278. Martin Van Buren 672 

279. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1875 673 

280. I'}aston, Pennsylvania 675 

281. Rafting Lumber in Maine 677 

282. Battle of Okeechobee 078 

283. William Henry Harrison 681 

284. John Tyler 082 

285. Davenport, Iowa 683 

286. Evansville, Indiana 685 

287. Madison, Wisconsin 687 

288. Old Fort Benton. Montana 689 

289. Fort Alamo — San Antonio, Texas 691 

290. Coat of Arms of Texa.s 693 

291. Coat of Arms of Iowa ; 694 

292. Coat of Arms of Florida 694 

293. James K. Polk 696 

294. Portland, Oregon, in 1875— From east side of AVillamette 697 

295. Street in Olympia, Washington Territory 698 

296. Battle of Palo Alto 701 

297. Death of Major Ringgold 702 



30 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

298. SL Joseph, Missouri 705 

299. Defeat of the Mexican Right Wing at Buena Vista 712 

300. General Taylor thanking Captain Bragg at Buena Vista 713 

301. Fremont 714 

302. Point Arena Lighthouse — Coast of California 715 

303. Southwest from Santa F^ 717 

304. East Side of Plaza— Santa F^ 71§ 

305. Doniphan making a Treaty with the Navajoes 719 

306. "The Journey of Death " — Crossed by Doniphan's Command 721 

307. Sacramento, California, in 1875 722 

308. General Winfield Scott 723 

309. Battle of Cerro Gordo 724 

310. American Army entering Puebla 725 

311. Storming of Chapultepcc 729 

312. Capture of the Belen Gate 731 

313. Hydraulic Mining 732 

314. The Emigrants' Camp on the Plains en route to California 733 

315. Coat of Arms of Wisconsin 734 

316. Zachary Taylor 737 

317. Shoslionee Falls, Idaho 739 

318. Birdseye View of San Francisco 742 

'319. Millard Fillmore 743 

320. Coat of Arms of California 744 

321. Brigham Young 745 

322. Franklin Pierce 749 

323. First Hotel in Lawrence 756 

324. The People of Lawrence determined to resist 757 

325. James Buchanan 762 

326. ^lormon Tabernacle : Endowment House in tlic Distance 763 

327. Salt Lake City (from the north) 764 

328. Brigham Young's Residences, Salt Lake City 765 

329. Coat of Arms of Minnesota 766 

330. Coat of Arms of Oregon 767 

331. Coat of Arms of Kansas 768 

332. Capitol at Montgomery, Alabama.Place of Meetingof the firstConfederateCongress 776 

333. Jefferson Davis 777 

334. Alexander H. Stephens 778 

335. Abraham Lincoln 780 

336. Arrival of President Lincoln at the Capitol 781 

3:'.7. State House, Springfield, Illinois 782 

338. Fort Sumter 783 

339. Harper's Ferry 785 

3 10. Coat of Arms of West Virginia 786 

341. State House, Columbus, Ohio 788 

342. (iencral P. G. T. Beauregard 790 

343. St. Louis, 1875 792 

344. (iencral Sterling Price 793 

345. Major-General F. Sigel 793 

346. Major-General N. Lyon 794 

347. State House, Indianapolis, Indiana 795 

348. Lientenant-General Polk 796 

349. James M. Mascn 796 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 31 

350. John Slidell 797 

351. Admiral Foote 800 

352. Nashville, Tennessee 801 

353. General Albert S. Johnston 802 

354. Major-General D. C. Buell 802 

355. Memphis, Tennessee 803 

356. Major-General H. W. Halleck 804 

357. General B. Bragg 804 

358. Cincinnati, in 1875 805 

359. Landing at Louisville, Kentucky 806 

360. Major-General W. Rosecrans 807 

361. Little Eock, Arkansas 808 

362. Admiral Farragut 810 

363. View in St. Charles Street, New Orleans 811 

364. Major-General B. F. Butler 812 

365. Major-General George B. M'Clellan 813 

366. Lieutenant-Gen«ral T. J. Jackson 816 

367. Major-General N. P. Banks 816 

368. Brigadier-General James Shields 817 

369. Richmond, Virginia 818 

370. Major General E. V. Sumner 819 

371. General R. E. Lee , 821 

372. Major-General Phil Kearney 821 

373. Major-General John A. Dix 822 

374. Major-General A. E. Burnside 823 

375. Major-General Joseph Hooker 826 

376. Major-General J. Sedgwick 827 

377. Lieutenant-General R. S. Ewell 828 

378. Major-General George G. Meade 828 

379. Battle of Gettysburg 829 

380. Major-General J. F. Reynolds 830 

381 . Vicksburg, Mississippi 831 

382. Major-General J. A. Logan 832 

383. Jackson, Mississippi 833 

384. Capture of Lookout Mountain 836 

385. Lieutenant-General J. Longstreet 837 

386. Admiral Dupont 837 

387. Galveston, Texas 838 

388. Brigadier-General Q. A. Gilmore 839 

389. Major-General E. Canby 839 

390. Battle of Spottsyl vania Court-house 842 

391. Major-General W. S. Hancock 843 

392. Major-General B eckenridge 844 

393. Major-General Hunter 844 

394. Major-General Lew Wallace 845 

395. Major-General Phil Sheridan 846 

396. General W. T. Sherman 846 

397. General Joseph E. Johnston 847 

398. Major-General M'Pherson 847 

399. General John B. Hood .' 848 

400. Major-General George H, Thomas 848 

401. Savannah, Georgia 849 



32 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

402. Miijor-General O. O. Howard 850 

403. Admiral Porter 850 

404. The Landing at Mobile, Alabama 851 

405. Admiral Winslow 852 

406. Brigadier-General A. Terry 853 

407. Brigadier-General Schofield 854 

408. Lieutenant-General W. Hardee 854 

409. Major-General H. G. Wright 855 

410. Major-General Warren 855 

411. Lieutenant-General A. P. Hill 856 

412. Major-General E. O. Ord 857 

413. Surrender of General Lee 859 

414. Monument to Abraham Lincoln in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia 861 

41 5. Hon. W. H. Seward 862 

416. Lieutenant-General E. Kirby Smith 862 

417. Interview between Generals Sherman and Johnston 863 

418. Jndah P. Benjamin •. 864 

419. Andrew Johnson 866 

420. City Hall, Portland, Maine 867 

421. Chestnut Street Bridge over the Schuylkill, Philadelphia 870 

422. Tlie Patent Office, Washington City 872 

423. Lake Street, Chicago 873 

424. Major-General George W. Custer 875 

425. Ulysses S. Grant 880 

426. President Grant leaving the White House to be inaugurated 881 

427. Cheyennes reconnoitring the first Train on the Pacific Railroad 882 

428. The Bureau of Agriculture, Washington, D. C 884 

429. The Burning of Chicago 887 

430. Horace Greeley 888 

431. President Grant passing through the Rotunda to take the Oath of Office 891 

432. Tlie Lava Beds 893 

433. Scene in the New York Stock Exchange during the Panic of 1873 895 

434. New York Stock Exchange 896 

435. Coat of Arms of Colorado 897 

436. Scene on the Hudson River in 1875 900 

437. St. Paul, Minnesota 901 

438. View on tlie Colorado River 903 

439. Birdseye View of the Centennial Buildings, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia 90S 

440. Centennial Medal— Obverse 914 

441. Centennial Medal— Reverse 914 

442. Agricultural Building — International Exhibition 917 

443. Horticultural Hall — International Exhibition 920 

444. Machinery Hall — International Exhibition 923 




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THE 

CEE"TEi^ri^IAL HISTORY 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 

PRIMITIVE INHABITANTS. 




tJarliest Inhabitants of the United States — The Mound Builders — Remarkable Works 
constructed by them — Evidences of a Primitive Civilization — Indications of the Antiq- 
uity of this Period — The American Indians — Divisions of the Country among the 
Tribes — Names and Location of tlie various Tribes^Drganization and Government of 
the Indians — Their Dress, Manners, and Customs — Villages — Indian Inventions — The 
War Dance — Legends of the Norsemen respecting the Discovery of America. 

jE do not know who were the inhabitants, or what was the history 
of North America previous to its discovery and settlement by 
the Europeans. That it was at some remote period occupied by 
a more civilized and powerful race than the Indians found by 
the first explorers, is very certain ; but who they were, what was 
tlieir history, or what the cause of their extinction, are among the 
profoundest mysteries of the past. Traces as distinct as those which 
mark the various physical changes which the continent has undergone, 
exist to show that these primitive inhabitants were both numerous and 
far advanced iu civilization ; but this is all that we know concerning 
them. 

In various parts of the country, and especially in the valley of the 
Mississippi, large mounds and other structures of earth and stone, but 
chiefly of earth, remain to show the magnitude of the works constructed 
by these people, to whom the name " Mound Builders " is generally 
applied. Some of these earth-works embrace as much as fifteen or sixteen 
miles of embankment. As no domestic animals existed in this country 
3 . 30 



34 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

at this period, these works must have been constructed by bringing the 
earth used for them by hand ; a fact which shows that the primitive 
population was a large one. The construction of the works proves that 
they had considerable engineering skill. The square, the circle, the 
ellipse, and the octagon are all used in these structures; being all 
combined in a single system of works in some places. The proportions 
are always perfect. The square is always a true square, and the circle a 
true circle. Many implements and ornaments of copper, silver, and 
precious stones — such as axes, chisels, knives, bracelets, beads, and pieces 
of thread and of cloth, and well-shaped vases of pottery — have been 
found in these mounds, and show the extent of the civilization of the 
"Mound Builders." In the region of Lake Superior are found old 
copper mines worked by these ancient people. In one of these mines 
there was discovered an immense block of copper weighing nearly six 
tons. It had been left in the process of removal to the top of the mine, 
nearly thirty feet above, and was supported on logs of wood which were 
almost decayed. The stone and copper tools used by the miners were 
discovered lying about as they had been left by their owners ages before. 
At the mouth of this mine are piles of earth thrown out in digging it, 
and out of these embankments trees are growing which are nearly four 
hundred years old. At Marietta, Ohio, there is a mound bearing trees 
eight hundred years old. The age of the mounds is necessarily equal 
to that of the trees. How much older they are is unknown. 

This mysterious race had perished long before the discovery of the 
continent by Columbus. Whether the "Mound Builders" were the 
ancestors of the American" Indians is uncertain ; but it is not likely that 
they were. The two races were unlike in habits, and the Indians neither 
constructed such works as the mounds, nor gave any evidence of the skill 
or industry necessary to their construction. The Indians themselves had 
no recollection of any previous race in this country, although they 
preserved their traditions with care. Various conjectures have been 
made as to the origin and character of the " INIound Builders," but it is 
useless to give them here. We have no means of arriving at a definite 
or satisfactory conclusion concerning this lost race. We only know that 
they existed and erected the great works which alone attest their presence 
in this country, perhaps more than a thousand years ago. 

At the time of its discovery by the whites the Indians were the sole 
human occupants of the continent,;which was covered with vast woods 
and plains abounding with game of every description, the pursuit of 
which formed the principal occupation of the natives, and furnished them 
with food and clothing. 



36 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Though nominally divided into tribes and "nations," the Indians were 
really one great family in physical appearance, manners, customs, religion, 
and in the observance of their social and political systems. The dis'ision 
into tribes was the result of their diiference in language. Each tribe had 
a dialect peculiar to itself and distinct from those of the others. The 
tribes were for the most part hostile to, and were constantly engaged in 
war with, each other. They were generally divided into eight nations, 
speaking eight radically distinct languages. These were : 

I. Tlie Algonqidns, who inhabited the territory now comprised in the 
six New England States, the eastern part of New York and Pennsyl- 
vania,New Jersey, Del- 
aware, Maryland, Vir- 
ginia, North Carolina 
as far south as Cape 
Fear, a large part of 
Kentucky and Tennes- 
see, and nearly all of 
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan, Wisconsin, 
and Minnesota. This 
nation was subdivided 
into the f o 1 1 o w i n g 
tribes: the Kniste- 
naux, Ottawas, Chip- 
pewas. Sacs and Foxes, 
Menomonees, Miamis, 
Piankeshaws, Pota- 
watomies, Kickapoos, 
Illinois, Shawnees, 
Powhatans, Corees, 

Nanticokes, Lenni-Lenapes or Delawares, Mohegans, Narragansetts, 
Pequods and Abenakis. 

II. The Iroquois, who occupied almost all of that part of Canada 
south of the Ottawa, and between Lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron, the 
greater part of New York, and the countrj'' lying along the south shore 
of Lake Erie, now included in the States of Ohio and Pennsylvania. 
This territory, it will be seen, was completely surrounded by the domains 
of their powerful and bitter enemies, the Algonquins. The nation was 
subdivided into the following tribes : the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, 
Oneidas, and Mohawks. These five Avere afterwards calletl by the 
Euglish the "Five Nations." In 1722, they admitted the Tuscaroras 




NAVAJO BOY. 



PRIMITIVE INHABITANTS. 37 

into their confederation, and were afterwards called the " Six Nations." 
The nation called itself collectively the Konoskioni, or " Cabin Builders." 
The Algonquins termed them Mingoes ; the French, Iroquois ; and the 
English, Mohawks, or Mingoes. 

III. The Catawbas, who dwelt along the banks of the Yadkin and 
Catawba rivers, near the line which at present separates the States of 
North and South Carolina. 

IV. The Cherokees, whose lands were bounded on the east by the 
Broad river of the Carolinas, including all of northern Georgia. 

V. TAe lichees, who dwelt south of the Cherokees, along the Savannah, 
the Oconee, and the head-waters of the Ogeechee and Chattahoochee. 
They spoke a harsh and singular language, and are believed to have 
been the remnant of a once powerful nation. 

VI. The Mobilian Nation, who inhabited all of Georgia and South 
Carolina not mentioned in the above statements, a part of Kentucky and 
Tennessee, and all of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Their territory 
w'as next in extent to that of the Algonquins, and extended along the 
Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic ocean to the Mississippi river. The 
nation was divided into three great confederations — the Creeks or Musco- 
gees, the Choctaws, and the Chickasaws — and was subdivided into a 
number of smaller tribes, the principal of which were the Seminoles and 
Yemassees, who were members of the Creek Confederation. 

VII. The Natchez, who dwelt in a small territory east of the Missis- 
sippi, and along the banks of the Pearl river. They were surrounded on 
all sides by the tribes of the Mobilian language, yet remained until their 
extinction a separate nation, speaking a distinct language peculiar to 
themselves, and worshipping the sun as their God. They are believed 
to have been the most civilized of all the savage tribes of North America. 

VIII. The Dacotahs or Sioux, whose territory was bounded on the 
north by Lake Winnipeg, on the south by the Arkansas river, on the 
east by the Mississippi, and on the west by the Rocky mountains. The 
nation was divided into the following branches : the Winnebagoes, living 
between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi; the Assiniboins, living in the 
extreme north ; the Southern Sioux, living between the Arkansas and the 
Platte ; and the Mintarees, Mandans, and Crows, who lived west of the 
Assiniboins. 

The great plains, the Rocky mountains, and the Pacific coast Avere 
held by the powerful tribes of the Pawnees, Comanches, Apaches, Utahs, 
Black Feet, Snakes, Nezperces, Flatheads, and California Indians. 

Each tribe was divided into classes or clans,- which were distinguished 
by a mark tattooed on the breast. This mark was called the toievi, and 



38 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



was generally the representation of an animal or bird. The Indians 
believed that all animals had protecting spirits, and each class was 
supposed to be protected by the spirit of the animal it chose for its totem. 
Over each class was a chief, and the head of the tribe was a chief or 
sachem, who was usually a man, but sometimes a woman. The Indians 
had no written laws, but the customs and traditions of the tribe took the 
place of these. The religious belief of the Indians was simple. They 
adored a Great Spirit — some tribes had many gods — and believed in a 
future state. The brave were admitted to the happy hunting-grounds 
of the spirit WDrld, but cowards were excluded from them. The weapons 
of a warrior were buried with him that he might use them in his spirit 

home. Their heaven lay far beyond 
the mountains of the setting sun. It 
was a land rich in game, and abound- 
ing in fertile meadows and sparkling 
streams. There the warrior, released 
from the cares and hardships of life, 
passed the ages of eternity in the chase; 
and there parting from friends, suffer- 
ing, fatigue, hunger, and thirst were un- 
known. The Indian heard voices of 
spirits in the wind, and saw them in 
the stars. The shades of his ancestors 
were constantly hovering over him, 
stimulating him to brave deeds, and 
keeping fresh in his mind the duty of 
avenging them upon the enemies they 
had left behind. 

The dress of the savages consisted 
of the skins of animals, Avhich .were 
prepared by smoking them. After the 
settlement of the colonies they added 
a blanket to this dress. Their garments were decoratetl with skins and 
feathers, and on special occasions they painted their faces with various 
bright colors. In the warm weather they wore scarcely any clothing. 
Their houses or wigwams were formed of poles set firmly in the ground 
and bent toward each other at the top. These were covered with 
chestnut or birch bark. Some of the tribes had large houses, often thirty 
feet high and over two hundred feet long, which accommodated a number 
of families. Some of the Indian villages were laid off regularly and were 
permanent; others were broken up with each migration of the tribe. 




PUEBLO INDIAN AT PEAYER. 



PRIMITIVE INHABITANTS. 



39 



All the Indians, however, pursued a roving life, passing from point to 
point in search of game and the means of subsistence. Some of the tribes 
lived by hunting only ; others added to this pursuit the cultivation of 
maize or Indian corn, beans, tobacco, hemp, and pumpkins. The food 
of the Indians was coarser and less nourishing than that of the Europeans, 
and they were consequently inferior to the latter in bodily strength. 
They surpassed them in endurance, however, and could bear tests which 
the whites could not. They were swift runners, and could accomplish 
long distances in this way. It was a common thing for a good runner 
to run seventy or eighty miles in a single day. They were thoroughly 
proficient in the craft of the woodsman. Sounds and sights which had 
no meaning to the white man were eloquent to them ; and they surpassed 
the latter in keenness of hearing 
and of vision. They communi- 
cated with each other by signs or 
marks on rocks and trees. For 
money they used wampum beads ; 
and belts made of this wampum 
were used to record treaties and 
other important events. They had 
no intoxicating drinks before the 
arrival of the whites; but used 
tobacco, which they smoked in 
pipes made of clay. They were 
expert marksmen with the bow 
until they learned the use of fire- 
arms from the whites, when they 
lost much of their ancient skill 
with this weapon. 

" The most ingenious inventions 
of the Indians," says Colonel Higginson, " were the snow-shoe and the 
birch canoe. The snow-shoe was made of a maple-wood frame, three or 
four feet long, curved and tapering, and filled in with a network of deer's 
hide. This network was fastened to the foot by thongs, only a light, 
elastic moccasin being worn. Thus the foot was supported on the surface 
of the snow ; and an Indian could travel forty miles a day upon snow- 
shoes, and could easily overtake the deer and moose, whose pointed hoofs 
cut through the crust. The peculiar pattern varied with almost every 
tribe, as did also that of the birch canoe. This was made of the bark of 
the white birch, stretched over a very light frame of white cedar. The 
whole bark of a birch tree was stripped oif and put round the frame 




CONVERTED IKDIAN WOMAN. 



->• ^-^-^ 




40 



A DEAD TOWN OF THE MOQUIS INDIANS. 



PRIMITIVE INHABITANTS. 



41 



without being torn. The edges were sewed with thongs cut from the 
roots of the cedar, and were then covered with pitch made from the gum 
of trees. If torn, the canoe could be mended with pieces of bark, 
fastened in the same way. The largest of these canoes was thirty feet 
long, and would carry ten or twelve Indians. They were very light, and 
could be paddled with ease. They were often very gracefully shaped, 
and drew very little water 

"The Indians had great, courage, self-control, and patience. They 
were grave and dignified in their manners on important occasions ; in 
their councils they were courteous to one another, and discussed all impor- 
tant questions at great length. They were often kind and generous, and 
sometimes even forgiving ; but they generally held sternness to be a virtue, 
and forgiveness a weakness. They were especially cruel to captives, 
putting them to death with all manner of tortures, in which women took 
an active part. It was the custom among them for women to do most of 
the hard work, in order that the 
bodies of the men might be kept 
supple and active for the pur- 
suits of the chase and war. 
When employed on these pur- 
suits, the Indian men seemed 
incapable of fatigue ; but in the 
camp or in travelling the women 
carried the burdens ; and when 
a hunter had carried a slain deer 
on his shoulders for a long dis- 
tance, he would throw it down 
within sight of the village,that his 
squaw might go and bring it in. 

" ]\Iost of the Indian tribes lived in a state of constant warfare with 
one another. When there was a quarrel between tribes, and war seemed 
ready to break out, strange ceremonies were used. Some leading chief 
would paint his body black from head to foot, and would hide himself in 
the woods or in a cavern. There he would fast and pray, and call upon 
the Great Spirit ; and would observe his dreams to see if they promised 
good or evil. If he could dream of a great war-eagle hovering before 
him it would be a sign of triumph. After a time he would come forth 
from the woods and return among his peojile. Then he would address 
them, summon them to war, and assure them that the Great Spirit was 
on their side. Then he would bid the warriors to a feast at his wigwam. 
There they would find him no longer painted in blswjk, but in bright and 




USTDIAN OF THE PLAINS. 



42 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

gaudy colors, called ' war paint.' The guests would also be dressed in 
paint and feathers, and would seat themselves in a circle. Then wooden 
trenchers, containing the flesh of dogs, would be placed before them, 
while the chief would sit smoking his pipe, and would not yet break his 
long and exhausting fast. 

"After the feast, the war-dance would follow, perhaps at night, amid 
the blaze of fires and lighted pine knots. A painted post would be 
driven into the ground, and the crowd would form a Avide circle round 
it. The war chief would leap into the open space, brandishing his 
hatchet, and would chant his own deeds and those of his fathers, acting 
out all that he described and striking at the post as if it were an enemy. 
Warrior after warrior would follow, till at last the whole band would be 
dancing, shouting, and brandishing their weapons, striking and stabbing 
at the air, and filling the forest with their yells. 

" Much of the night would pass in this way. In the morning the 
warriors would leave the camp in single file, still decorated with paint 
and feathers and ornaments ; and, as they entered the woods, the chief 
would fire his gun, and each in turn would do the same. Then they 
would halt near the village, would take off their ornaments and their 
finery, and wo\ild give all these to the women, who had followed them 
for this purpose. Then the warriors would go silently and stealthily 
through the forest to the appointed place of attack. Much of their skill 
consisted in these silent approaches, and in surprises and stratagems, and 
long and patient watchings. They attached no shame to killing an 
unarmed enemy, or to private deceit and treachery, though to their 
public treaties they were always faithful. They were desperately brave, 
and yet they saw no disgrace in running aAvay when there was no chance 
of success." 

At the time of the discovery of America the Indians were rapidly 
disappearing. Their relentless wars and frequent pestilences were 
sweeping them away. Contact with the white race has hastened the 
work of destruction. Many of the tribes exist now but in name, and 
those which remain are growing smaller in numbers Avith each generation ; 
and it would seem that the time is not far distant when the last trace left 
of the red man in America will be his memory. 

Whether any white men ever trod the shores of America previous to 
the coming of Columbus is a dis})uted question. It would seem, 
however, that, several centuries previous to his discovery, a Norwegian 
vessel from Iceland to Greenland was driven out of her course by storms 
to the coast of Labrador or Newfoundland. The national pride of the 
Icelanders and the Danes has led them to accept as literal history the 



%tMW^' 



w^i^BtttjtKji^^ur^ 




43 



44 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



traditions of their race concerning this voyage, and they have given it a 
definite date. According to them this voyage took place in a. d. 986, 
and was followed in 1001 by a voyage of Lief Erickson, an Icelandic 
navigator, who is said to have discovered America, reaching Labrador 
first, and -then sailing southward to Newport and New York harbors. 
This voyage is said to liave led the way to the further exploration of the 




LOWER FALLS OF THE YELLOWSTONE, "tt'TOMING, 
(350 FEET IN HEIGHT.) 



coast as far south as the capes of Virginia, and to the planting of colonies, 
•which soon perished, in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. That some 
Icelandic voyagers visited the American continent previous to the expedi- 
tion of Columbus is most likely; but we cannot accept the definite and 
explicit statements of the writers in question; at least in the present state 
of our knowledge upon this subject. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS. 

Maritime Enterprise in the Fifteenth Century — Theories respecting the Earth's Surface — 
Christoplier Cohunbus — His early Life — His Theory of a Western Passage to India — 
His Struggles to obtain the means of making a Voyage — Is aided by Ferdinand and 
Isabella of Spain — His first Voyage — Discovery of America — Reception in Spain — His 
second Voyage — Settlement of Hayti — Third Voyage of Columbus — He reaches the 
Mainland — Discovery of Gold in Hayti — Troubles in the Colony — Columbus sent to 
Spain in Irons — Indignation of the Queen — Last Voyage of Columbus — His Shipwreck 
— Returns to Spain — Refusal of Ferdinand to comply with his Promises — Death of 
Columbus — Amerigo Vespucci — Origin of the name America. 

^Yj j HE fifteenth century witnessed a remarkable awakening of human 
thought and enterprise, one of the most important features of 
which was the activity in maritime undertakings which led to 
the discovery of lands until then unknown to the civilized world. 
The invention, and the application to navigation, of the mariner's 
compass, had enabled the seamen of Europe to undertake long and distant 
voyages. The Portuguese took the lead in the maritime enterprises of 
this period, the chief object of which was to find a route by water from 
Europe to the Indies. The equator had been passed ; Bartholomew Diaz 
had even doubled the Cape of Storms, and had established the course of 
the eastern coast of Africa ; and it was hoped by some of the most daring 
thinkers that the distant ports of India could be reached by sailing 
around this cape. Others, still bolder, believed that although the earth 
was really a sphere, it was much smaller than it is, and tliat the central 
portion of its surface was occupied by a vast ocean which washed the 
shores of what they regarded as its solitary continent, on either side, and 
that by sailing due west from Europe, the shores of India, China, or 
Japan would be reached. 

Among those who held this opinion was Christopher Columbus. He 
was a native of Genoa, in Italy, was born about the year 1435, and was 
the sou of a weaver of cloth. His ancestors had been sailors, for which 
calling he at an early age evinced a preference. He received a common- 
school education, and 'afterwards went to the University of Pavia, where 
he studied geometry, astronomy, geography, and navigation. He stayed 

45 



46 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



at P&via but a short time ; only long enough to gain a decided relish for 
the mathematical studies in which he afterwards excelled. At the aire of 
fourteen he went to sea with a relative, and followed the callinfr of a 
sailor until he had completed his thirtieth year. During this period he 
had married, and by this marriage he had become possessed of the papers 
of the former husband of his wife, who had been a distinguished Portu- 
guese navigator. He had learned but little at school, but he had been a 
close student all his life, and had stored his mind with a valuable fund 
of information. This habit of study he never abandoned, and his 

extensive knowledge, 
added to his years of 
practical experience, 
made him one of the 
most learned naviga- 
tors of his day. 

In 1470, being then 
about thirty years old, 
Columbus took up his 
residence in Portugal, 
which was then the 
centre of maritime en- 
terprise in Europe. He 
continued to make voy- 
ages to the then known 
parts of the world, and 
while on shore engaged 
in the work of making 
and selling maps and 
charts. The papers 
given him by his wife 
were now of the greatest service to him. He entered eagerly into the 
speculations of the day concerning the shortest passage to the Indies, gnd 
his studies, fortified by his experience, induced him to believe that there 
was laud beyond the western seas, which could be reached by sailing in 
that direction. This land he believed to be the eastern shores of Asia. 
He was confirmed in his belief by his correspondence with the learned 
Italian Toscanelli, who sent him a map of his own projection, in which 
the eastern coast of Asia was laid down opposite the western coast of 
Europe, with only the broad Atlantic between them. Other things also 
confirmed him in what had now become the profouiidest conviction of his 
life. Sailors who had been to the Canary islands told him they had seen 




CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 



THE VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS. 47 

land far to the westward of those islands. A piece of wood strangely 
carved had been thrown by the waves upon the Portuguese coast after a 
long westerly gale, and had been seen by the brother-in-law of Columbus. 
An old pilot related to him the finding of a carved paddle at sea, a 
thousand miles to the westward of Europe. Pine trees had been cast 
ashore at Madeira, and at the Azores he learned that the bodies of two 
men, whose features and dress showed that they belonged to no nation of 
Europe, had been thrown on the land by the waves. 

Having settled it in his own mind that there was land to the westward, 
Columbus was eager to go in search of it. He was not possessed of suffi- 
cient means to accomplish this at his own expense, and began his efforts 
to interest some European state in the enterprise. His first application 
was addressed to his native country, the Republic of Genoa. He met 
with a refusal, and ' then turned to Venice, with a like result. His next 
effort was to enlist the Portuguese king, John IL, in his scheme. Here 
he was subjected to delays and vexations innumerable, and once the 
Portuguese sovereign attempted to make a dishonorable use of the 
information given by Columbus in support of his theory. Disgusted 
with the conduct of this sovereign, Columbus, after years of waiting, 
abandoned the hope of obtaining his assistance, and applied to Henry 
VII. of England, from whom he received a decided refusal. 

Quitting Lisbon in 1484, Columbus went to Spain, intending to lay 
his plans before Ferdinand and Isabella, the sovereigns of that country. 
He could scarcely have chosen a more unpropitious time. The Spanish 
nation was engaged in the Moorish war, which had exhausted the 
treasury, and which absorbed the attention of the sovereigns to the 
exclusion of every other matter. He spent seven years in endeavoring 
to interest the government in his plans. " During this time Columbus 
appears to have remained in attendance on the court, bearing arms 
occasionally in the campaigns, and experiencing from the sovereigns an 
unusual degree of deference and personal attention." At last, wearied 
with the long delay to which he had been subjected, he pressed the court 
for an answer, and was told by the sovereigns that, " although they were 
too much occupied at j^resent to embark in his undertaking, yet, at the 
conclusion of the war, they should find both time and inclination to treat 
with him." He accepted this answer as a final refusal, and prepared to 
go to France to ask the assistance of the king of that country, from 
whom he had received a friendly letter. 

Travelling on foot, he stopped at the monastery of Santa Maria de 
Rabida, near Palos, to visit the Prior Juan Perez de ISIarchena, who had 
befriended him when he first came to Spain. The prior, learning his 



48 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

intention to quit Spain, persuaded him to remain until one more effort 
could be made to enlist the government in his plans. Leaving Columbus 
at the convent, Juan Perez, who had formerly been the queen's confessor, 
mounted his mule and set off for the Spanish camp before Granada. He 
was readily granted an interview by Queen Isabella, and he urged the 
suit of Columbus with all the force of eloquence and reasoning of which 
he was master. His appeal was supported by several eminent persons 
whom Columbus, during his residence at the court, had interested in his 
project, and these represented to the queen the impolicy of allowing 
Columbus to secure the aid of a foreign power which would reap the 
benefits of his discoveries, if he were successful. The result was that the 
sovereigns consented to reopen tlie negotiation, and Columbus was invited 
to return to the court, and was furnished with a sum of money to enable 
him to do so. 

Columbus promptly complied with the royal mandate, and reached the 
camp in time to witness the surrender of Granada. Amidst the rejoicings 
which attended this event, he was admitted to an audience with the king 
and queen, and submitted to them the arguments upon which he based 
his theory. Isabella was favorably disposed toward the undertaking, but 
Ferdinand looked coldly upon it. Columbus demanded, as the reward 
of his success, the title and authority of admiral and viceroy over all 
lands discovered by him, with one-tenth of the profits, and that this dig- 
nity should be hereditary in his family. The archbishop of Granada 
advised the king to reject the demands of Columbus, which he said 
" savored of the highest degree of arrogance, and would be unbecoming 
in their highnesses to grant to a needy foreign adventurer." Columbus 
firmly refused to abate his pretensions, and abruptly left the court, 
"resolved rather to forego his splendid anticipations of discovery, at the 
very moment when tlie career so long sought was thrown open to him, 
than surrender one of the honorable distinctions due to his services." His 
friends, however, remonstrated with the queen, and reminded her that if 
liis claims were high, they were at least contingent on success. By 
representin-]:: to her the certainty of his being employed by some other 
])otentate, and his peculiar qualifications for success, and by reminding 
her of her past generous support of great and daring enterprises, they 
roused her to listen to the impulses of her own noble heart. "I will 
assume the undertaking," she exclaimed, " for my own crown of Castile, 
and am ready to pawn my jewels to defray the expenses of it, if the funds 
in the treasury shall be found inadequate." Louis de St. Angel, the 
receiver who had been cliiefly instrumental in bringing about this deci- 
sion of the queen, offered to advance the necessary funds from the 




THE BRONZE DOOB IN THE NATIONAL CAPITOL, COMMEMORATING THE EVENTS 

OF THE LIFE OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 

4 49 



50 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 

revomies of Aragon. That kingdom, however, was indemnified againsi 
loss, and all the charges and })rofits of the expedition were reserved ex- 
clnsively for Castile. 

A messenger was despatched in haste after Columbus. He overtook 
him a few leagues from Granada, and delivered the royal order to return. 
On the 17th of April, 1492, a formal agreement was signed between 
Columbus and the Spanish sovereigns. Ferdinand and Isabella, "as 
lords of the ocean-seas, constituted Christopher Columbus their admiral, 
viceroy, and governor-general of all such islands and continents as he 
should discover in the Western ocean, Avith the privilege of nominating 
three candidates, for the selection of one by the crown, for the govern- 
ment of eiich of these territories. Pie was to be vested with the exclusive 
right of jurisdiction overall commercial transactions within his admiralty. 
He was to be entitled to one-tenth of all the products and profits within 
the limits of his discoveries, and an additional eighth, provided he should 
contribute one-eighth })art of the exj)cnse. By a subsequent ordinance, 
the official disrnitics above enumerated were settled on him and his heirs 
forever, with the privilege of prefixing the title of Don to their names, 
Avhich had not then degenerated into an appellation of mere courtesy." 

A fleet of three vessels was assembled in the little harbor of Palos in 
Andalusia. Two of these were furnished by the government, and one by 
Columbus, aided by his friend, the Prior of La Rabida, and the Pinzons, 
" a family in Palos, long distinguished for its enterprise among the mari- 
ners of that active community." The admiral had some difficulty in 
ecpiipping his vessels, for his voyage was regarded by the sailors of the 
country as rash and perilous in the extreme. At length, however, a 
sufficient crew was obtained. One hundred and twenty persons were en- 
listed in the expedition. The three vessels were all small. The " Santa 
Maria," the largest, was ninety feet long, was decked all over, had four 
masts, and carried a crew of sixty-six seamen. The "Pinta" and 
"Nina" were smaller, and were without decks. All the vessels were 
provisioned for a year. The admiral was instructed to keep clear of the 
African coast, and other maritime possessions of Portugal. 

At length all things were in readiness, and, Columbus and his whole 
crew having confessed themselves and received the sacrament, the fleet 
sailed from Palos on the morning of Friday, the 3d of August, 1492. 
A month later the Canary islands were reached. A brief delay was 
made there to refit, and then the vessels turned their prows to the west- 
ward, and sailed out into the unknown seas. As the night came on, the 
sailors, imagining they had seen the land for the last time, gave way to 
tears. Columbus soothed their fears, and held his course. At length he 



THE VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS. 



51 



fell in with the trade winds, which wafted him steadily toward the west. 
Tlie sailors were greatly alarmed at this, and declared that if the wind 
did not change it would be impossible for them to reach home again. 
The variation of the compass also alarmed them, and their murmurs in- 
creased to almost open mutiny. It required all the firmness of the 
admiral to restrain them, and to keep them from abandoning the enter- 
prise and returning to Europe. 

Ten weeks of anxiety and disappointment had passed since the depar- 
ture of the fleet from Palos ; but still no land was seen. There were un- 
mistakable signs that land was near, such as the flight of land birds 




THE LANDING OF COLUMBUS. 



around the ship, the finding of a bush floating on the waters with fresh 
berries upon it, and the frequent discovery of land weeds upon the waves. 
Often the lookout would startle the fleet by the cry of land, but as often 
the supposed shore would prove to be only a bank of clouds low down 
upon the western horizon. Still the ships held their westward course, 
and at length the sailors broke into open mutiny, and demanded that the 
fleet should return home. They were even ready to throw the admiral 
overboard if he refused to grant their demands. 

Columbus alone had been calm and hopeful throughout the voyage. 
He was resolved to succeed or perish in the attempt to find the land. 



52 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The success of tlie mutiny would have destroyed all his hopes, and as tlie 
events of each succeeding day strengthened liirn in his conviction that 
they Avere rapidly approaching land, he condescended to plead with his 
men, and obtained from them a promise to obey him for a few days 
longer. The next night the land breeze, laden with the rich ])crfumes 
of tropical flowers, convinced the weary crews that the admiral was right, 
and that the long wished-for shore Avas indeed near. The ships were 
ordered to lie to for the night lest they should go ashore in the darkness. 
No one slept on board that night. About ten o'clock, Columbus saw a 
light moving along the shore, as if it were a torch carried in a man's 
hand. He called Martin Alonzo Pinzon, one of his captains, and pointed 
it out to him. Pinzon confirmed the admiral's opinion, and all waited in 
the most intense eagerness for the approach of the morning. 

With the first light, on tlie morning of Friday, the 12th of October, 
1492, a gun from one of the vessels announced that land was indeed in 
sight, and the rising sun revealed to the delighted seamen a large island, 
luxuriant in foliage and of very beautiful appearance, lying about six 
miles away, Avith crowds of natives running along the beach. As the 
great admiral stood with folded arms, and heaving breast, gazing upon 
the world which his genius had discovered, the penitent sailors crowded 
al)0ut him, and, kissing his garments, implored his pardon for their re- 
bellious conduct during the voyage. 

The fleet stood in and anchored ' near the shore. The boats Avere 
manned, and the admiral, clad in rich scarlet, and bearing the royal 
banner of Spain, and accompanied by his captains, each of Avhom bore a 
green banner inscribed with a cross, went ashore. As he set foot on the 
land, Columbus knelt reverently and kissed the ground, and then rising 
and drawing his sword, took possession of the island in the name of 
Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Spain. The island was one 
of the Bahama group, and was called by the natives Guanahani. Colum- 
bus named it San Salvador. He explored the island, and then sailing on 
discovered Cuba, Hayti, and other West India islands. He believed 
these islands to lie off the coast of Asia and to form a part of the Indies. 
For this reason he called the natives Indians, a name which they have 
since borne. 

Having built and garrisoned a small fort called La Navidad, in Hayti, 
Columbus took on board seven of the natives, and laid in a stock of 
fruits, plants, and a number of animals, as proofs of his success and 
specimens of the products of the country, and then set sail on his return 
to Spain. A storm compelled him to seek refuge in the Tagus. He 
was received with distinguished courtesy by John II., who was now not 





^^^3!^^^'^^ 














//^^' 



"/lla^nh. 



/6^^ c//^in^n^h7i 












a/^ 










SIGNATURES OF THE SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



THE VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS. 53 

a little mortified at having thrown away so glorious an opportunity in 
rejecting the application of the admiral years before. Leaving Lisbon, 
Columbus sailed to Palos, where he arrived on the 15th of March, 1493, 
seven months and eleven days after his departure from that port. His 
arrival was greeted with enthusiasm. From Palos he set out for the 
court at Barcelona. 

Every step of the journey to Barcelona was a triumphal progress. 
Multitudes thronged the way, eager to gaze upon him. He was received 
M'ith the most distinguished honors by the sovereigns, and the whole 
court joined in a Te Deum of thankfulness for the success of his voyage. 
The king and queen confirmed his appointment of viceroy or governor- 
general of all the countries he had discovered, or should discover, and 
conferred titles of nobility upon his family, with permission to use a coat 
of arms. These honors, though conferred with a lavish hand, had all 
been fairly won ; but they aroused the jealousy of the Spanish nobilit}^, 
and made for Columbus enemies who filled the remainder of his life with 
sorrow and care. 

A second expedition, consisting of seventeen ships and fifteen hundred 
men, was now fitted out, and sailed from Cadiz, under the command of 
Columbus, on the 25th of September, 1493. On this voyage he discov- 
ered Jamaica and many of the Caribbee islands. He found that his colony 
in Hayti had been destroyed by the savages in revenge for their outrages ; 
but, undismayed by this, he planted a new town, which he called Isabella, 
in honor of the queen. From this time the permanent settlement of the 
island continued without interruption. 

In 1498 Columbus made a third voyage, and in this expedition discov- 
ered the mainland of the American continent near the mouth of Orinoco, 
and explored the coast of the provinces since called Para and Cumana. 
He was not aware of the true nature of his discovery, however, but sup- 
posed that the South American coast was a part of a large island belong- 
ing to Cathay or Farther India. 

In the meantime gold had been discovered in Hayti, which island the 
Spaniards had named Hispaniola, or Little Spain. The colonists neglect- 
ing all the more useful avocations, applied themselves to the search for 
gold, and crowds of worthless adventurers were drawn over from Spain 
by the hope of acquiring sudden wealth. They inflicted the greatest 
hardships upon the natives, and when Columbus arrived at Hispaniola 
from the South American coast, he found the affairs of the colony in the 
most deplorable state. The whole settlement rebelled against him, and 
the rebels, not content with refusing to acknowledge his authority, sent 
numerous complaints to Spain, charging him with tyranny and raisgov- 



54 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ernment. The sovereigns at length sent over a commissioner named 
Bobadilla, to investigate the affairs of the colony. He was a narrow- 
minded and incompetent man, and instead of investigating the charges 
against the admiral, arrested him, and sent him back to Spain in irons. 
When tlie officers of the ship which bore him back home wished to re- 
move his fetters, he refused to allow them to do so, saying, " I will wear 
them as a memento of the gratitude of princes." The news of this out- 
rage filled the people of Spain with honest indignation. "All seemed to 
feel it as a national dishonor," says Prescott, " that such indignities should 
be heaped upon the man, who, whatever might be his indiscretions, had 
done so much for Spain, and for the whole civilized world." Queen Isa- 
bella at once ordered his fetters to be struck off, and he was summoned to 
court, reinstated in all his honors, and treated with the highest considera- 
tion. Isabella gained from tlxe king a promise to aid her in doing justice 
to the admiral, and in punishing his enemies ; but Ferdinand, who could 
never bear to do a generous or noble act, evaded his promise, and the 
admiral failed to receive the recompense he was justly entitled to. 

In 1504 Columbus sailed on his fourth voyage; his object this time 
being to find a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, by which 
he might reach India. He explored the Gulf of Honduras, and saw the 
continent of North America, but was compelled by a mutiny of his crew 
and by severe storms to abandon his attempt and return to the northward. 
He was sliipwrecked on the coast of Jamaica, where he remained more 
than a year. Returning to Spain in November, 1504, he found his best 
friend. Queen Isabella, on her death-bed. The enemies whom his great 
success had raised up for him were numerous and powerful, while he was 
now old and broken in health. He vainly sought from Ferdinand a faith- 
ful execution of the original compact between them; but though he re- 
ceived fair woi'ds and promises in abundance from the king, Ferdinand 
steadily refused to comply with the just demands of the admiral. At 
last, worn out with care and disappointments, Columbus died at Valladolid, 
on the 20th of May, 1506, being about seventy years old. He was buried 
with great pomp in the convent of St. Francis, at Valladolid. In 1513 
his remains were removed to the monastery of Las Cuevas, at Seville, and 
Ferdinand caused this inscription, which cost him nothing and expressed 
his excuse for his conduct towards the dead man, to be placed upon his 
tomb : "To Castile and Leon Columbus gave a New World !" In 1536 
the body of the great admiral was conveyed with appropriate honors to 
St. Domingo. Upon the cession of that island to France in 1795, the 
body was removed to Cuba, and buried in the cathedral of Havana. 
Not yet have the ashes of the Discoverer of America found their true rest- 



THE VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS. 55 

ing place. That place is under the great dome of the Capitol of the 
Republic, for whose existence he prepared the way. 

Though Columbus reached the continent of South America on his third 
voyage, he was not the first European who beheld the mainland of the 
western world. In the winter of 1497-98, Amerigo Vespucci, or Ameri- 
cus Vespucius, a Florentine navigator, made a voyage to the West Indies 
and the South American coast, thus reaching the mainland of the conti- 
nent nearly a year before Columbus. Returning to Europe he published 
an account of his discoveries. This was the first account of the new 
world published in Europe, and some years later a German geographer 
gave to the continent the name of ^^ Amend Terra ," or the land discovered 
by Americus. From this time the name America was applied to the 
western continent.* 



* In the Atlantic Monthly for March, 1875, Mr. Jules Marcou gives some very striking 
reasons for regarding the name America as derived from an indigenous word originallv 
applied to a range of mountains in Central America. "Americ, Amerrique, or Amerique," 
he says, " is the name in Nicaragua for the highland or mountain range that lies between 
Juigalpa and Libertad, in the province of Chontales, and which reaches on the one side 
into the country of the Carcas Indians, and on the other into that of the Ramas Indians. . . . 
The names of places in the Indian dialects of Central America often terminate in iqiie, or 
ic, which seems to mean 'great,' 'elevated,' 'prominent,' and is always applied to dividing 
ridges, or to elevated mountainous countries, but not to volcanic regions. . . . 

" The question to be decided is, whether the word Americ or Amerrique, designating a 
part of the terra firma discovered by Cristoforo Colombo, on his fourth and last voyage to 
the new world, was known to the great navigator, and consequently could have been 
repeated by him or by the companions of his voyage. There is no certainty of this ; for the 
word is not found in the very brief account he has left us. But as the origin of the word 
Americ has been until now an enigma, in spite of the different interpretations of it that 
have been given, and as Vespuchy had nothing to do with this name, entirely unknown to 
him — the inventor of the word Americi or America being a printer and bookseller in a 
small town in the Vosges mountains — it is perhaps well to review the facts, and to 
show where lies the greatest probability for a true solution of the origin of this word 
America 

" There is the strongest evidence that this word, denoting the range and the rocks of 
Araerfique, Amerique, or Americ, is an indigenous word, the terminal ique or ic being com- 
mon for the names of locality, in the laniruage of the Lenca Indians of Central America, a 
part of Mexico ; and that this name has been perpetuated without alteration since the dis- 
covery of the new world, by the complete isolation of the Indians who live in this part of 
the continent, who call their mountains by the same word to-day as they did in 1502, when 
Colombo visited them, Amerrique, Amerique, or Americ. These mountains are auriferous ; 
at their foot lie the gold mines of Libertad and Santo Domingo, and further, the gold of 
the alluvium or the placers is entirely exhausted, which can only be explained by a previ- 
ous washing by the Indians themselves ; at present the gold is to be found only in the veins 
of the quartz rock. 

"Colombo says the Indians named several localities rich in gold, but he does not give 
the names in his very curtailed account, contenting himself with citing the name of the 
province of Ciamba ; but it is highly probable that this name Americ or Amerrique was 



56 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

often pronounced by the Indians in answer to the pressing demands of the Europeans of the 
expedition. The eagerness for gold was such among the first navigators that it formed their 
chief preoccupation everywhere ; and it is almost certain that to their continual questions 
as to the place where the gold was found that the Indians wore as ornament'', the reply 
would be from Americ, this word signifying the most elevated and conspicuous part of the 
interior, the upper country, the distinguishing feature of the province of C'iamba 

" We may suppose that Colombo and his companions on their return to Europe, when re- 
lating their adventures, would boast of the rich gold mines they had discovered through the 
Indians of Nicaragua, and say they lay in the direction of Americ. This would make 
popular the word Americ, as the common designation of that part of the Indies in which 
the richest mines of gold in the new world were situated. 

"The word Americ, a synonym for this golden country, would become known in the 
seaports of the West Indies and then in those of Europe, and would gradually penetrate into 
the interior of the continent, so that a printer and bookseller in St. Di^, at the foot of the 
Vosges, would have heard the word Americ without understanding its true meaning as an 
indigenous Indian word, but would become acquainted with it in conversations about these 
famous discoveries, as designating a country in the New Indies very rich in mines of gold. 

" Hylacomylus of St. Die, ignorant of any printed account of these voyages but those of 
Albericus Vespucius — published in Latin in 1505, and in German in 1506 — thought he saw 
in the Christian name Albericus the origin of this, for him, altered and corrupted word, 
Americ or Amerique,and renewing the fable of the monkey and the dolphin who took the 
Piraeus for a man, called this country by the only name among those of the navigators that 
had reached him, and which resembled the word Americ or Amerique. 

" In order to accomplish this it was necessary to change considerably the Christian name 
of Vespucius, and from Albericus, Alberico, Amerigo, and Morigo — which are the differ- 
ent ways of spelling the first name of Vespuzio, or Vespuchy, or Vespucci — he made 
Americus ! thus, according to my view, it is owing to a grave mistake of Hylacomylus that 
the aboriginal name of the new world, Americ or Amerique, has been Europeanized and 
connected with the son of Anastasio Vespuzio." 

The reader is referred to the article in question for the arguments by which the writer 
sustains his very ingenious theory, which we have giveu in substance in his own words in 
the above extract. 



[A 




CHAPTER III. 

ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 

Discovery of the North American Continent by John Cabot — Voyages of Sebastian Cabot 
— The English fail to follow up these Discoveries — Efforts of the French to 'Explore 
America — Voyage and Discoveries of Verrazzani — Cartier explores the St. Lawrence — 
Reaches Montreal — Efforts to found a Colony on the St, Lawrence — Failure — Roberval's 
Colony — Trading Voyages — Explorations of Champlain — Colonization of Nova Scotia 
— Founding of Quebec — Discovery of Lake Champlain — Arrival of the Jesuits in 
Canada — Death of Champlain. 

^[N the meantime the success of the first voyage of Columbus had 
)lj stimulated other nations to similar exertions. The English court 
<} had experienced a feeling of keen regret that the petition of 
)'f^ Columbus had been refased, and when John Cabot, a native of 
Venice, then residing at Bristol, applied for leave to under- 
take a voyage of exploration his request was readily granted. On the 
5th of March, 1496, a patent or commission was granted to him and his 
three sons by Henry VII., authorizing either of them, their heirs or their 
agents, to undertake with a fleet of five ships, at their own expense, a 
voyage of discovery in the eastern, western, or northern seas. Though 
they were to make the attempt at their own cost, they were to take pos- 
session of the countries they should discover for the king of England. 
They were to have the exclusive privilege of trading to these countries, 
but were bound to return to the port of Bristol, and to pay to the king 
one-fifth of the profits of their trade. 

Early in 1497 Cabot sailed from Bristol, accompanied by his son, 
Sebastian. The object of his voyage was not only the discovery of new 
lands, but the finding of a northwest passage to Asia. He sailed due 
west, and on the 24th of June, 1497, reached the coast of Labrador. He 
thus discovered the mainland of the North American continent, fully 
fourteen months before Columbus reached the coast of South America, 
and nearly a year before Amerigo Vespucci made his discovery. He 
explored the coast to the southward for over a thousand miles, made 
frequent landings, and took possession of the country in the name of the 
English king. Returning home, he was received with many marks of 
honor by Henry VII., and was called the "Great Admiral" by the people. 

57 




58 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 



59 



Towards the close of the year 1497, the Cabots undertook a new voy- 
age, and the king, pleased with the success of the first venture, became 
a partner in the enterprise, and assumed a portion of the expense. The 
object of this voyage was to trade witli the natives, and to ascertain if the 
country was suited to colonization. The expedition sailed from Bristol 
in May, 1498, and was commanded by Sebastian Cabot, who reached the 
Labrador coast about four hundred miles north of the point discovered 




BRIDAL VEIL FALL, YOSEMITE VALLEY. 

by his father. He found the country cold and barren, though it was but 
the beginning of the summer, and sailed southward. "The coast to 
"which he was now borne was unobstructed by frost. He saw there stags 
larger than those of England, and bears that plunged into the water to 
take fish with their claws. The fish swarmed innumerably in such 
shoals they seemed to affect even the speed of his vessels, so that he gave 
to the country the name of Bacallaos, which still linger, on the east side 



60 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of Newfoundland, and has passed into the language of the Germans and 
the Italians, as well as the Portuguese and Spanish, to designate the cod. 
Continuing his voyage, according to the line of the shore, he found the 
natives of those regions clad in skins of beasts, but they were not without 
the faculty of reason, and in many places were acquainted with the use 
of copper. In the early part of his voyage he had been so far to the 
north that in the month of July the light of day was almost continuous ; 
before he turned homewards, in the late autumn, he believed he had 
attained the latitude of the Straits of Gibraltar and the longitude of 
Cuba."* On his homeward voyage he noticed the Gulf Stream. 

This was the last voyage from England made by Sebastian Cabot. On 
the death of Henry VII., he took service with Ferdinand of Spain, and 
under him and his grandson, Charles V., he made many voyages, and 
was for nearly sixty years the foremost man in Europe in maritime 
enterprises. He explored the eastern coast of South America, and in his 
efforts to find the northwest passage sailed within twenty degrees of the 
North Pole, and explored the eastern coast of North America from Hud- 
son's straits to Albemarle sound. He was in many things one of the 
most remarkable men of his day, and besides his own discoveries con- 
tributed generously by his advice and encouragement to those of others. 
" He gave England a continent, and no one knows his burial place." 

The English made no effort to take advantage of the discoveries of the 
Cabots. They sent a few vessels every year to fish on the banks of 
Newfoundland, but pursued even this industry without vigor. The 
other nations were more energetic and showed a keener appreciation of 
the value of the new lands. The French Avere especially active in this 
respect. Their vessels engaged in the fisheries far outnumbered those 
of the English, and many plans were proposed in France for the coloniz- 
ation of these regions. In 1523, Francis I. employed a Florentine 
named John Verrazzani, an experienced navigator, to undertake the dis- 
covery of a northwest passage to India. Verrazzani sailed on the 1 7th 
of January, 1524, and, after a stormy voyage of fifty days, reached the 
American coast in the latitude of AVilmington, North Carolina. Failing 
to find a good harbor, he sailed southward for 150 miles, and then turned 
northward, examining the coast as he proceedal. A^errazzani was sur- 
prised and delighted by the appearance of the new country and its 
inhabitants. The latter welcomed with hospitality the strangers whom 
they had not yet learned to fear, and the Europeans, on their part, re^ 
garded with wonder the "russet "-colored natives in their dress of skins 
ornamented with feathers. Judging from the accounts which they 

* Bancroft 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 



61 



carried to Europe, the voyagers regarded the country as a sort of terres- 
trial paradise. " Their imagination could not conceive of more delightful 
fields and forests ; the groves spreading perfumes far from the shore, 
gave promise of the spices of the East ; and the color of the earth argued 
an abundance of gold." The harbors of New York and Newport were 
carefully explored, and in tlie latter the voyagers remained fifteen days. 




SENTINEL EOCK, YOSEMITE VALLEY. 

They then proceeded along the New England coast to Nova Scotia, and 
still farther to the north. They found the natives here less friendly 
than those farther south. A Portuguese commander, Gaspar Cortereal, 
had visited their coast a few years before, and had carried away some of 
their number and sold them into slavery. Still the savages were willing 
to trade for instruments of iron or steel, but were careful not to place 
themselves in the power of the whites. 



()2 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Returning to France, Verrazzani published an account of his voyage. 
This narrative forms the earliest original description now in existence of 
the American coast, and added very much to the knowledge of the Euro- 
peans concerning this country. France at a subsequent period based 
upon Verrazzani's discoveries her claim to the whole coast of Ameri«i 
from Newfoundland to South Carolina. 

The struggle in which Francis I. was engaged with the Emperor 
Charles V. prevented him from taking advantage of these discoveries, 
and nothing was done with regard to them by the French until ten years 
later, when Chabot, Admiral of France, induced King Francis to make 
another effort to explore and colonize America. An expedition was 
fitted out, placed under the command of James Cartier, a mariner of St. 
Malo, and despatched in April, 1534, for the purpose of exploring the 
American coast with a view to colonizing it. A quick voyage of twenty 
days carried Cartier to Newfoundland. Having passed through the 
Straits of Bellcisle, he crossed the gulf and entered a bay which he named 
Des Chaleurs, from the extreme heats he experienced there. He pro- 
ceeded along the coast as far as the small inlet called Gasp<^, where he 
landed and took formal possession of the country in the name of the king 
of France. Leaving Gasp<5 bay, Cartier discovered the great river of 
Canada, and sailed up the stream until he could see the land on either 
side. His explorations consumed the months of May, June and July. 
Being unprepared to pass the winter in America, the fleet sailed for 
Europe early in August, and reached St. Malo in safety in about 
thirty days. 

The reports of Cartier concerning America aroused the deepest interest 
in France, and it was determined by the government to proceed at once 
to the foundiu": of a colony in the new world. A fleet of three well- 
equipped ships was fitted out, and volunteers from some of the noblest 
faniilies in France were not lacking. The whole company repaired to 
the cathedral, where they received the bishop's blessing, and on the 19th 
of May, 1535, the expedition sailed from St. Malo. The voyage was 
long and stormy, but Newfoundland was reached at length. Passing 
through the Straits of Belleisle, they entered the gulf lying west of New- 
foundland on the 10th of August, the festival of St. Lawrence the 
Martyr, and gave to the gulf the name of that saint, which was subse- 
quently applied to the great river emptying into it. The voyagers 
ascended the stream to the island since called Orleans. There the fleet 
anchored, while Cartier proceeded farther up the river to the chief Indian 
settlement on the island of Hochelega. It was the delightful season of 
September, and the country was beautiful and inviting. Cartier ascended 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 63 

a hill at the foot of which the Indian settlement lay, and gazed with 
admiration at the magnificent region which spread out before him. He 
named the hill Mont Real, or Royal mount, a name which is now 
borne by the island and by the great city which marks the site of Indian 
village. 

The balminess of the autumn induced Cartier to hope that the climate 
would prove as mild as that of France ; but a rigorous winter, M'hich 
was rendered horrible by the prevalence of scurvy among the ships' 
crews, disheartened the whole expedition. The winter was spent at the 
Isle of Orleans, and in the early spring Cartier erected a cross on the 
shore, to which was affixed a shield inscribed with the arms of France 
and a legend declaring Francis I, the true and rightful king of the 
country. The fleet then sailed for France, and arrived at St. Malo on the 
6th of July, 1536. Cartier published a truthful account of his voyage, 
setting forth the severity of the Canadian climate and the absence of 
mines of precious metals. His report checked for the time the enthu- 
siasm with which the French had regarded America, and for four years 
the plan of colonizing the new country was laid aside. 

Some ardent spirits, however, still believed in the possibility of plant- 
ing successful colonies in the new world and bringing that va;:t region 
under the dominion of France. Among these was Francis de la Roque, 
lord of Roberval, a nobleman of Picardy. He M^as appointed, by King 
Francis, A-^iceroy of the territories on or near the gulf and river of St. 
Lawrence, to which the high-sounding name of Norimbega was given, 
and was empowered to colonize it. The assistance of Cartier Avas neces- 
sary to such an undertaking, and he had the additional advantage of 
possessing the entire confidence of the king. Roberval was forced to 
employ him, and Cartier was given authority by the king to search the 
prisons and take from them such persons as he needed for the expedition. 
Roberval and Cartier, however, failed to agree, and their dissensions 
defeated the object of the undertaking. Cartier sailed from St. Malo in 
May, 1541, and ascended the St. Lawrence to a point near the present 
city of Quebec, wdiere he built a fort. The winter was passed in idleness 
and discord, and in the spring of 1542 Cartier abandoned the attempt, 
and sailed away for France with his ships just as Roberval arrived with 
a large reinforcement. 

Roberval was unable to accomplish more than Cartier. His new 
subjects had been largely drawn from the prisons, and they gave him 
considerable trouble, if we may judge from the efforts resorted to to keep 
them quiet. One of them was hanged for theft during the winter, several 
were put in irons, and a number of men and woinen were whipped. 







64 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 65 

After remaining in Canada for a year, Roberval became disheartened, 
and re-embarked his subjects and returned to France. 

Nearly thirty years jiassed away, during which the French made no 
effort to secure to themselves the region of the St. Lawrence. Their 
fishermen, however, continued to frequent the American waters. By the 
close of the sixteenth century one hundred and fifty vessels were engaged 
in the fisheries of Newfoundland, and voyages for the purpose of trading 
with the Indians had become common. In 1598, the Marquis de la 
Roche, a nobleman of Brittany, attempted to plant a colony on the Isle 
of Sable. The colonists consisted of criminals from the prisons of France, 
and the effort proved a failure. 

In 1 600, Chauvin obtained a patent from the crown, conferring upon 
him a monopoly of the fur trade, and Pontgrave, a merchant of St. Malo, 
became his partner in the enterprise. Two successful voyages were made 
to Canada, and Chauvin intended founding a colony there. His death, 
in 1602, prevented the execution of this plan. 

In 1603, a company of merchants of Rouen was organized, and Samuel 
Cham plain, an able and experienced officer of the French navy, was 
placed in charge of an expedition, and sent to Canada to explore the 
country. He was in every way qualified for the task committed to him, 
and after making a thorough and systematic examination of the region 
of the St. Lawrence, and fixing upon Quebec as the proper site for a fort, 
returned to France and laid before his employers his report, which is still 
valuable for its accurate description of the country and the manners of 
the natives. 

Soon after Champlain's return to France a patent was issued to Des 
Monts, conferring upon him the sole right to colonize the vast region 
lying between the fortieth and forty-sixth parallels of latitude. As this 
territory embraced the St. Lawrence region, the Rouen company were 
unable for the present to accomplish anything. Des Monts proceeded 
with his preparations, and in March, 1604, an expedition consisting of 
two ships was sent out to Acadie or Nova Scotia. The summer was 
passed in trading with the Indians and exploring the coast, and in the 
autumn the colonists made a settlement on the island of St. Croix, at the 
mouth of the river of the same name. In the spring of 1605, they 
abandoned this settlement and removed to Port Royal, now known as 
Annapolis. Efforts were made to find a more southern location in the 
latter part of 1605 and 1606, but the expeditions sent out for this purpose 
were driven back by storms or wrecked among the shoals of Cape Cod, 
and the colonists decided to remain at Port Royal. Thus the perma- 
nency of the colony was established. Some years later a number of Jesuit 
5 




66 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 



67 



missionaries were sent out to Port Royal. These labored diligently 
among the tribes between the Penobscot and the Kennebec, and not only 
spread the Christian faith among them, but won for the French the 
constant affection of the savages. During all her contests with the 
English in America, these tribes remained the faithful and unwavering 
allies of France. In 1613, a French colony was planted on the eastern 
shore of Mount Desert. The settlement was named St. Sauveur, and be- 
came another centre of missionary enterprise among the savages of Maine. 
In the meantime the French merchants had succeeded in obtaining a 
revocation of the impolitic monopoly of Des Monts. A company of 
merchants of St. Malo and Dieppe was formed, and an expedition was 




SCENE ON THE ST. LAWRENCE. 



sent out to Canada under Champlain, who " aimed not at the profits of 
trade, but at the glory of founding a state." On the 3d of July, 1608, 
the city of Quebec was begun by the erection of one or two cottages. In 
1609, Champlain, with but two Europeans, joined a party of Hurons 
from Montreal, and Algonquins from Quebec, in an expedition against 
the Five Nations. He ascended the Sorel, explored the lake which is 
now called by his name, and examined a considerable part of northern 
New York. The religious disputes of France spread to the colony, and 
Champlain was obliged to use all his energy and authority to overcome 
the evils which these inflicted upon the infant settlement. He succeeded 
in overcoming them, and by his energy and perseverance the fortunes of 
Quebec were placed beyond the reach of failure. Champlain died in 
1635, and Mas burled in " New France," of which he is justly called 
"the father." 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA. 

Settlement of the "West Indies — Discovery of the Pacific Ocean — Voyage of Magellan — 
Discovery of Florida — Ponce de Leon's Search for the Fountain of Youth — Vasquez de 
Ayllon Kidnaps a Cargo of Indians — Effort of Paniphilode Narvaez to Conquer Florida 
— A Terrible March — The Voyage on the Gulf of Mexico — Fate of the Fleet — Escape 
of Cabeza de Vaca and his Comrades — Discovery of New Mexico — Ferdinand de Soto — 
Obtains leave to Conquer Florida — Sails from Spain — Arrival in Cuba — Departure for 
Florida— Landing at Tampa Bay — Events of the first Year — De Soto enters Georgia — 
Descends the Alabama — Battle of Mavilla — Destruction of Chickasaw — Sut!erings of the 
Spaniards — Discovery of the Mississippi — The Spaniards Cross the Great River — De 
Soto in Arkansas — Reaches the Mississippi again — Sickness and Death of De Soto — His 
Burial— Escape of his Followers to Mexico — The Huguenot Colony in Carolina — Its 
Failure — The French Settle in Florida — Wrath of Philip II. — Melendez ordered to 
Exterminate the Huguenots — Foundation of St. Augustine — Massacre of the French at 
Fort Carolina — The Vengeance of De Gourges. 

HILE the French were seeking to obtain a footing in the north, 
the Spaniards were busy in the south. In the first years of the 
sixteenth century the more important of the West India islands 
were subdued and colonized, and from these expeditions were 
from time to time sent out to explore the shores of the Gulf of 
Mexico. The southern part of the peninsula of Yucatan was explored, 
and a colony was established on the Isthmus of Darien. One of the 
governors of this colony was Vasco Nunez de Balboa. In 1513, while 
searching the isthmus for gold, he discovered the Pacific ocean, and took 
possession of it in the name of the king of Spain. In 1520, a Portu- 
guese navigator named Magellan, employed by the king of Spain, 
passed through the straits south of Cape Horn, which bear his name, and 
entered the Western ocean, which he named the Pacific because it was so 
calm and free from storms. He died on the voyage, but his ship reached 
the coast of Asia, and returned thence to Spain by the Cape of Good ' 
Hope, thus making the first voyage around the world, and establishing 
its spherical form beyond dispute. 

In 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon, who had been a companion of Columbus 
on his second voyage, and had been governor of Porto Rico, fitted out 
three ships at his own expense to make a voyage of discovery. He had 
68 




THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA. 



G9 



lieard the reports which were then commonly believed by his country- 
men, that somewhere in the new world was a fountain flowing in the 
midst of a country sparkling with gold and gems, whose waters Avould 
give perpetual youth to the man who should drink of and bathe in them. 
Ponce de Leon was an old man, and he longed to taste again the pleasures 
and the dreams of youth. He gave a willing- ear to the stories of this 
Avonderful fountain, and in March, 1513, set sail from Porto Rico in 
search of it. He sailed among the Bahamas, but failed to find it, and on 
Easter Sunday, which the Spaniards call Pascua Florida, land yvas, dis- 
covered. It was supposed to be an island, but was in reality the long 




THE COAST OF FLOKIDA. 



southern peninsula of the United States. De Leon gave it the name of 
Florida — which it has since borne — partly in honor of the day, and 
partly because of the beauty of its flowers and foliage. The weather M'as 
very bad, and it was some days before he could go ashore. He landed 
near the site of St. Augustine, and took possession of the country for 
Spain on the 8th of April, 1513. He remained many weeks on the 
coast, exploring it, and sailing southward, doubled Cape Florida and 
cruised among the Tortugas. He failed to find the fountain of youth, 



70 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and returned in despair to Porto Rico. The king of Spain rewarded his 
discovery by appointing him governor of Florida, on condition that he 
should colonize the country. A few years later he attempted to plant a 
colony in Florida, but was attacked by the Indians, who were very 
liostile, and driven to his ships with the loss of a number of his men. 
Ponce de Leon himself received a painful wound, and returned to Cuba 
to die. He had staked his life upon the search for perpetual youth ; he 
found only a grave. 

Between the years 1518 and 1521, the expeditions of Hernando Cortez 
against Mexico, and of Francesco Pizarro against Peru, were despatched 
from Cuba. They resulted in the conquest of those countries and their 
colonization by Spain. These expeditions, however, form no part of this 
narrative, and we cannot dwell upon them. 

The native population of the West Indies died out rapidly under the 
cruel rule of the Spaniards, and it soon became necessary to look else- 
where for a supply of laborers for the plantations and the mines. In 
1520, Lucas Vasquez de Ay lion, at the head of a company of seven 
Spaniards, fitted out a fleet of two slave-ships from St. Domingo or His- 
paniola, for the deliberate purpose of seizing the natives of the mainland 
and selling them as slaves. The vessels went first to the Bahamas, from 
which they sailed to the North American coast, reaching it at or near St. 
Helena sound, in the present State of South Carolina. The Indians had 
not yet learned to fear the whites, and were utterly unsuspicious of the 
fate which awaited them. They were timid at first, but this feeling was 
soon overcome by the distribution of presents among them. Their confi- 
dence being won, they received the Spaniards with kindness, and at their 
request visited the ships in great numbers. When the decks of the ves- 
sels were covered with the unsuspecting natives Vasquez made sail, and 
standing out to sea steered for the West Indies, regardless of the entreaties 
of the natives who were thus torn from their friends and relatives on the 
shore. A retributive justice speedily avenged this crime. A violent 
storm arose and one of the ships foundered with all on board. x\. pesti- 
lence broke out in the remaining vessel, and swept away many of the 
captives. Returning to Spain, Vasquez boasted of his infamous deed, 
and even claimed a reward for it at the hands of the Emperor Charles 
v., who acknowledged his claim, and appointed him governor of Chicora, 
as South Carolina was called, with authority to conquer that country. 
Vasquez spent his entire fortune in fitting out an expedition, and reached 
the coast of Chicora in 1525. There he met with nothing but misfortune. 
His largest ship was stranded in the Combahee river, then called by the 
whites the River Jordan, and so many of his men were killed by the 



THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA. 71 

Indians that he was obliged to abandon the undertaking. He returned to 
Europe to die of grief and mortification for his failure. " It may be," 
says Bancroft, " that ships sailing under his authority made the discovery 
of the Chesapeake and named it the Bay of St. Mary ; and perhaps even 
entered the Bay of Delaware, which in Spanish geography was called 
Saint Christopher's." 

In 1526, Pamphilo de Narvaez obtained from the Emperor Charles 
V. authority to explore and conquer all the country between the Atlantic 
and the River of Palms. He was very wealthy, and spent his entire 
estate in preparations for the expedition. There was no lack of volun- 
teers, and many younger sons of nobles joined him, hoping to find fame 
and fortune in the new world. Among the adventurers was Cabeza de 
Vaca, the historian of the expedition, who held the second place in it as 
treasurer. Narvaez sailed from the Guadalquivir in June, 1527, touched 
at St. Domingo, and passed the winter in Cuba. In the spring of 1528, 
he was driven by a strong south wind to the American coast, and on the 
14th of April his fleet cast anchor in Tampa bay. A week later, he landed 
and took possession of the peninsula of Florida in the name of Spain. 

The natives showed unmistakable signs of hostility, but they exhibited 
to the governor samples of gold, which he believed, from their signs, 
came from the north. In spite of the earnest advice of Cabeza de Vaca, 
he determined to go in search of the precious metal. He directed his 
ships to meet him at a harbor with which his pilot pretended to be ac- 
quainted, and then, at the head of three hundred men, forty of whom 
were mounted, set off into the interior of the country. No one knew 
whither he was going, but all believed that each step led tliem nearer to 
the land of gold. The beauty of the forest, the richness of its vegetation, 
and the size of its gigantic live-oaks, filled them with wonder and admira- 
tion, and the variety and abundance of the birds and wild beasts of the 
country excited their surprise ; but they found neither the gold nor the 
splendid cities they had fondly believed they were about to discover. 
The forest grew denser and more intricate at every step, and the rivers 
were broad and deep, with swift currents, and could be crossed only by 
means of rafts, which were constructed with great difficulty. The march 
lay through swamps, in which the Indian warriors harassed the strangers 
painfully, and, their provisions becoming exhausted, they began to suffer 
with hunger. Late in June they reached Appalachee, which they had 
supposed was a large and wealthy city. They found it only a hamlet 
of some forty poor wigwams ; but remained there twenty-five days, search- 
ing the neighboring country for gold and silver, and finding none ; suffer- 
ing all the while from hunger, and the attacks of the Indians. 



72 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

It was plain now even to the governor that there was no gold to be 
found in this region, and every nerve was strained to hasten the march 
to the harbor where they had appointed to meet the ships. There was 
but one impulse now in the whole expedition — to escape from the terrible 
country which was proving so fatal to them. After a painful march 
they reached a bay which they called the Baia de Caballos, now the har- 
bor of St. Marks. The ships could not be seen, and it was resolved at 
once to build boats and attempt to reach some of the Spanish possisssions 
by sea. The horses were slain to furnish food, and several hundred 
bushels of corn were seized from the Indians. Subsisting upon these 
supplies, the Spaniards beat their spurs, stirrups, cross-bows, and other 
implements into saws and axes and nails, and in sixteen days built five 
boats, each more than thirty feet long. Pitch for the calking of the 
boats was made from the pine trees, and the fibre of the palmetto served 
as oakum. Ropes were made of twisted horse-hair and palmetto fibres, 
and the shirts of the men were pieced together for sails. Fifty men had 
been lost on the march, and on the 22d of September the survivors, two 
hundred and fifty in luimber, began their perilous voyage. They followed 
the shore, encountering many dangers, and suffering greatly from hunger 
and thirst. On the 30th of October they discovered one of the mouths 
of the Mississippi, and on the 5th of November a storm scattered the lit- 
tle fleet. Cabeza de Vaca's boat was wrecked upon an island which is 
believed to be that of Galv'cston. Castillo's boat was driven ashore 
farther to the east, but he and his crew Avere saved alive. Of the fate of 
the other boats nothing is known with- certainty. Of those who were 
cast ashore, all but Cabeza de Vaca, Dorantes, Castillo, and Estcvanico, 
a negro, died of exposure and hardship. These four were detained cap- 
tives among the Indians for nearly six years. 

At the end of this period, Cabeza induced his companions to join him 
in an attempt to escape. In September, 1534, they set out, naked, igno- 
rant of the way, and without any means of*sustaining life. In this con- 
dition these men accomplished the Avonderful feat of traversing the conti- 
nent. The journey occu[)ied upwards of twenty months, and extended 
from the coast of Texas to the Canadian river, and thence into New 
Mexico, from which they continued their way to the village of San 
JNIiguel, in Sonora, near the Pacific ocean. They reached this village in 
jNIay, 1536, and found themselves again among their countrymen. They 
were escorted to Comjiostella by Sj)anish soldiers, and from that place 
were forwarded to the City of jNIexico by the authorities. 

The reports of Cabeza and his companions made the viceroy Mendoza 
anxious to send out an expedition to explore Xew Mexico, which was 




SrANlAKDS ENSLAVING THE INDIANS. 




SPANISH EXPLORING PARTY DISCOVERING NEW MEXICO. 



73 



74 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 








'■'^'^ 




believed to 
be richer in 
wealth and 
splendid 
cities than 
]\I e X i c o it- 
self. A Fran- 
ciscan f r i a r 
boasted that 
he had vis- 
ited a region in the interior 
named Cibola, the Land 
of Buffaloes, in M'hich were 
/ seven splendid cities. He de- 
clared that the land was rich in 
silver and gold, and that his In- 
dian guides had described to him a 
region still wealthier. The friar's 
story was religiously believed, and 
an expedition set out in 1539, un- 
der command of Francisco Vasquez 
Coronado, the goverr.or of New Ga- 
licia. The expedition explored the 
region of the Colorado, examined 
the country now known as New 
Mexico, and penetrated as far east 
as the present State of Kansas. 
Coronado found neither gold nor 
precious stones, and the only cities 
he discovered were the towns of the 
Zuni Indians of New Mexico. He 
reported to the viceroy on his return 
to Mexico that the region was not 
fit to be colonized, and his descrip- 
tion of the country through which 
he marched is so accurate as to chal- 
lenge the admiration of every suc- 
ceeding traveller. 

Still the Spaniards refused to abandon the belief that fabulous wealth 
was to be found in the interior of the continent ; and even those who 
had borne a part in the conquest of Mexico and Peru gave credit to the 



THE SPANIARDS EXI'LORIXO THE VALLEY 
OF THE COLORADO. 



THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA. 75 

wild stories that were told concerning the undiscovered regions. Among 
those who gave such implicit faith to these stories was Ferdinand de 
Soto, of Xeres, a veteran soldier, who had served with distinction with 
Pizarro in the conquest of Peru, and had amassed a considerable fortune 
from the spoils of that province. The fame and wealth acquired by him 
in this expedition opened the way to other successes in Europe. He was 
honored with the favor of the Emperor Charles V., and received the 
hand of a noble lady in marriage. Eager to distinguish himself still 
further, he determined to attempt the conquest of Florida. He de- 
manded and received from the emperor permission to undertake this at 
his own cost, and was also made governor of Cuba and of all the terri- 
tories he should conquer. As soon as he made known his intentions 
applications for leave to serve in the expedition poured in upon him. 
Many of the volunteers were of noble birth, and 
sold their lands and other property to equip 
themselves for the undertaking. De Soto selected 
six hundred well-equipped men from the number 
who had volunteered, and in 1538 sailed from 
Spain to Cuba, where he was welcomed with great 
rejoicings. A vessel was despatched from Cuba 
to find a harbor in Florida suitable for the land- 
ing of the expedition. On its return it brought 
two Indian captives, who perceiving what was 
wanted of them, told by signs such stories of the 
wealth of the country as greatly delighted the febdinand de soto. 
governor and his companions. Volunteers in 

Cuba swelled the ranks of the expedition to nearly one thousand men, 
of whom three hundred were horsemen. 

In May, 1539, leaving his wife to govern the island, De Soto sailed 
with his fleet for Florida, and a fortnight later landed at Espiritu Santo, 
now Tampa bay. Everything had been provided which the foresight of 
an experienced commander deemed necessary, and De Soto, in order to 
remove any temptation to retreat, sent his ships back to Cuba. He never 
dreamed of failure, for he believed that at the most the task before 
him would not be more difficult than those which had been accom- 
plished by Cortez and Pizarro. After a brief halt at Tampa bay the 
march into the interior was begun. It was long and tedious, and 
was full of danger. The Indians were hostile, and the guides con- 
stantly led the Spaniards astray, and plunged them into difficult 
swamps. The guides were instantly given to the bloodhounds, and 
torn in pieces by the ferocious animals ; but not even this dreadful pun- 




76 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ishment was sufficient to prevent a renewal of such acts. Before the 
close of the first season the whole company, save the governor, had 
become convinced that their hojje of finding gold was vain, and they 
besought De Soto to return to Cuba. He sternly refused to abandon the 
eifort, and pushed on to the country of the Appalachians, east of the 
Flint river, and not far from the Bay of Appalachee. The winter was 
passed in this region, and a scouting party during this season discovered 
Pensacola. 

In the spring of 1540 the march was resumed. An Indian guide 
promised to conduct the Spaniards to a country abounding in gold and 
governed by a woman, and he described the process of refining gold so 
accurately that De Soto believed his story. It is possible that the Indian 
may have referred to the gold region of North Carolina. One of the 
guides told the governor plainly that he knew of no such country as his 
companion had described, and De Soto had him burned for what he sup- 
posed was his falsehood. The Indians, terrified by his fate, from this 
time invented all manner of fabulous stories to excite the cupidity of the 
Spaniards. De Soto, with a singular perversity, held to his belief that 
he would yet realize his hopes, and continued to push on long after his 
men had become disheartened ; and so great was his influence over them 
that in their deepest despondency he managed to inspire them with some- 
thing of his own courage and hopefulness. 

Instead of conciliating the Indians, the Spaniards seized their pro- 
visions, and provoked their hostility in numberless ways. They treated 
their captives with the greatest cruelty. They cut off the hands of the 
poor Indians, burned them at the stake, or turned them over to the blood- 
hounds, who tore them in pieces. They were chained together by the 
neck, and forced to carry the baggage and provisions of the troops. The 
march was now into the interior of Georgia, as far as the headwaters of 
the Chattahoochee, from which the Spaniards jiassed to the headwaters of 
the Coosa. Here they turned to the southwest, and marched through 
Alabama to the junction of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers. At this 
point there was a large and strongly fortified town called Mavilla, or 
llobile, a name which has since been given to the river and bay. The 
town consisted of "eighty handsome houses, each sufficiently capacious 
to contain a thousand men. They were encompassed by a high wall, 
made of immense trunks of trees, set deep in the ground and close 
together, strengthened M'ith cross-timbers and interwoven with large 
vines." It was the middle of October when Mavilla was readied, and 
the Spaniards, tired of living in the open country so long, wished to 
occupy the town. The Indians resisted them, and a desperate battle 



THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA. 77 

ensued, which was won by the Spanish cavalry. The victory cost the 
whites dear, however, for the town was burned during the battle, and 
with it all the baggage of the Spaniards was consumed. The Indians 
fought with a desperate bravery, and numbers of them were slain and 
burned to death in the town. The Spaniards had 18 killed and 150 
wounded ; 12 horses were killed, and 72 wounded. 

Ships had arrived in the meantime, according to appointment, at 
Pensacola, and by them De Soto received letters from his wife. He 
would send no news home, however. He had not yet realized the objects 
of the expedition, and he determined to send no news of himself to his 
countrymen until he had found or conquered some rich country. Turn- 
ing his back resolutely upon the ships, the governor resumed his march 
to the northwest. By the middle of December he reached the north- 
western part of the State of Mississippi, and finding a deserted village in 
the country of the Chickasaws, occupied it as the winter quarters of the 
expedition. December, 1540, the winter was severe, and the ground was 
covered with snow, but the corn was still standing in the fields, and this 
furnished the Spaniards with food. Their force was now reduced to five 
hundred men, and it was evident to all, except the governor, that they 
would never find the cities or the wealth they had set out to seek. 

With the opening of the spring of 1541 a new disaster befell the 
Spaniards. De Soto, as had been his custom with the other tribes, 
demanded of the Chickasaw chief two hundred men to carry the baggage 
of the troops. The demand was refused, and that night the Indians, 
deceiving the sentinels, set fire to the village. The bewildered Spaniards 
were aroused from their slumbers to meet a fierce attack of the savages. 
The latter were repulsed after a hard fight, but the whites were left in an 
almost helpless condition. The little they had saved from the flames at 
Mavilla was destroyed in the burning village. Armor and weapons were 
rendered worthless, and scarcely any clothing was saved. The troops 
were forced to resort to dresses of skins and of the long moss of the 
country woven into mats. In this condition, they suifered greatly from 
the cold. To supply the weapons destroyed forges were erected, and the 
swords were retempered, and new lances made. 

Renewing their march the Spaniards pushed on still farther west, and 
about the 2d of May reached the banks of the Mississippi, at a point a 
short distance below the present city of Memphis. They were the first 
white men to gaze upon the mighty flood of this noble river, but De Soto 
had no admiration to express for it. It was only an obstacle in his west- 
ward march, and would require greater efforts for its passage than any 
stream he had yet encountered. A month was passed on the banks of 



78 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the river in constructing barges large enough to hold three horsemen 
each. At length they were completed, and the Spaniards were trans- 
ported in safety to the opposite shore. The natives received them kindly, 
and presented them with food, and regarding them as the children of 
their god, the sun, brought to them their sick to be healed, and their 
blind to be restored to sight. The blunt soldier, cruel as he had been to 
the savagas, shrank from claiming the power of heaven. " Pray only to 
God, who is in heaven, for whatsoever ye need," he answered. 

De Soto remained forty days on the western bank of the Mississippi, 
and during this time an exploring party was sent to examine the country 
to the north. They reported that this region was thinly inhabited by 
hunters, who lived by chasing the bison, which abounded in this region. 
The governor then turned to the west and northwest, and advanced 200 
miles farther into the interior of thj continent, probably to the highlands of 
the White river. Then turning southward, he passed through a succession 
of Indian tribes who lived by cultivating the soil, and who enjoyed a 
civilization superior to that of their nomadic brethren. The winter was 
passed near the Hot Springs of Arkansas. The Indians west of the 
Mississippi were treated with the same cruelties that had marked the 
conduct of the Spaniards towards the savages east of that stream. "Any 
trifling consideration of safety would induce the governor to set fire to a 
hamlet. He did not delight in cruelty, but the happiness, the life, and 
the rights of the Indians were held of no account." 

In the spring of 1542, De Soto determined to descend the Washita to 
its mouth, and endeavor to reach the sea. At last, after a most arduous 
march, in which he frequently lost his way amid the swamps and bayous 
of the region, he reached the Mississippi. The chieftain of this region 
could not tell him the distance to the sea, but informed him that the 
country along the lower river was a vast and uninhabited swamp. An 
exploring party was sent to descend the banks of the river, and returned, 
after penetrating about thirty miles in eight days, to confirm the Indian's 
report. Reaching the vicinity of Natchez, the governor found the 
Indians prepared to contest his occupation of that town. He attempted 
to overawe them by claiming to be the child of the sun, their chief dcitv. 
The chieftain answered him scornfully: " You say you are the child of 
the sun. Dry up the river, and I will believe you. Do you desire to 
see me? Visit the town where I dwell. If you come in peace, I will 
receive you with special good will ; if in war, I will not shrink one foot 
back." The savages were becoming more dangerous every day, and the 
Spaniards less able to resist their assaults. 

De Soto was now conquered. It was at last as plain to him as it had 



THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA. 



79 



been all along to his followers that the expedition was a failure. He 
had spent three years in roaming over the continent, and he had found 
neither the cities nor the wealth he had hoped for. His magnificent 
anticipations had disappeared; his little army was reduced to a mere 
handful of the splendid force that had left Cuba ; and he was in the 
midst of a region from which he could see no escape. A deep melancholy 
took the place of the stern pride that had hitherto marked his demeanor, 
and his heart was torn by a conflict of emotions. His health gave way 
rapidly, and he was seized with a violent fever. When informed by his 
medical attendant that his end was at hand, he expressed his resignation 
to the will of God, and at the request of his men appointed Louis de 
Mocoso his successor, and advised him to continue the expedition.. He 





NATCHEZ IN 1875. 

died on the 5th of June, 1542. In order to conceal his death from the 
savages, who had come to regard him as immortal, his body w-as wrapped 
in a mantle, and in the silence of midnight was rowed out into the 
middle of the Mississippi. There, amid the darkness and the wailing 
requiems of the priests, the mortal remains of Ferdinand de Soto were 
committed to the great river he had discovered. 

The Spaniards at once prepared to disregard the advice of their dead 
leader, and resolved to set out across the country for Mexico, believing it 
less dangerous to go by land than by sea. They roused the whole 
country against them by their barbarous treatment of the people, and, 
having proceeded upwards of 300 miles west of the Mississippi, were 
driven back to that stream by the savages. It now became necessary to 
build vessels and descend the river. Seven of these were constructed 



THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA. 81 

with great difficulty, and amidst the constant hostility of the Indians. 
They were frail barks, without decks, and in order to construct them the 
Spaniards were obliged to beat their weapons, and even their stirrups, 
spurs and bridles into saws, axes and nails. During this period they 
suffered greatly from the lack of clothing, for it was the winter season. 
They obtained provisions by plundering the granaries of the neighboring 
tribes, and thus dooming many of the savages to death by starvation. 
On the 1st of July, 1543, they embarked in their vessels, their number 
being now reduced to about 250, and began the descent of the river. 
Their progress was harassed at every mile by the Indians, who covered 
the stream with their canoes and kept up an almost constant assault upon 
the fleet. On the 18th of July, the vessels entered the Gulf of Mexico, 
and by the 10th of September the Mexican coast was reached. The 
vessels succeeded in gaining the Spanish settlement of Panuco, where the 
survivors were hospitably received by their countrymen. ^ 

The failure of Narvaez and De Soto prevented the Spaniards from 
making any further attempt for many years to colonize the Florida coast. 
The next effort to found a settlement in that region was by the French. 
The religious wars which had distracted France for so many years made 
the great Huguenot leader, Coligny, Admiral of France, anxious to 
provide in the new world a refuge to which his persecuted brethren of 
the faith might fly in times of danger, and be free to worship God after 
the dictates of their own conscience. He succeeded in obtaining authority 
for this undertaking from Charles IX., and in 1562 an expedition was 
despatched to America under the command of Jean Ribault, a Protestant. 
Ribault was instructed to avoid the more rigorous climate of Canada, 
and to select a southern location for the colony. Land was made in 
May, 1562, in the vicinity of St. Augustine, Florida, and the fleet pro- 
ceeded along the coast and anchored in what is now Port Royal harbor, 
in the State of South Carolina. Ribault was delighted with the noble 
harbor, which he believed to be the outlet of a large river, and with the 
beauty and richness of the country. A fort was built on an island in 
the harbor, and called Carolina, which name was also applied to the 
country, in honor of Charles IX. of France. A force of twenty-five 
men was left to garrison the fort, and Ribault returned to France to 
report his success and bring out reinforcements for the colony. He 
reached France in the midst of the civil war, which prevented any atten- 
tion being paid to the colony. The garrison of Fort Carolina waited in 
vain for the promised reinforcements and supplies, and at last, becoming 
disheartened, built a brigantine and set sail for their own country. Their 
provisions soon gave out, and they began to suffer the horrors of famine. 
6 



82 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

AVhen they were nearly exhausted, they were rescued by an English 
vessel, which set the most feeble upon the coast of France, but carried 
the remainder to England. In both countries the colonists spread their 
accounts of the beauty and fertility of Carolina. 

In 1564, there was a lull in the struggle between the contending 
parties in France, and Coligny took advantage of it to renew his efforts 
to colonize America. Three ships were furnished by the king, and were 
placed in command of Laudonniere, who had accompanied Ribault in the 
first expedition. Emigrants volunteered readily, and the required 
number was soon completed. In order to obtain reliable information 
concerning the country, Coligny sent out with the expedition a skilful 
painter, James le INIoyne, called Des Morgues, with orders to make 
accurate colored sketches of the region. The fleet sailed on the 22d of 
April, 1564, and on the 22d of June reached the coast of Florida. 
Avoiding Port Royal, the site of the first colony, the colonists chose a 
location in Florida, on the banks of the St. John's, then called the 
River May. A fort was built, and called, like the first, Carolina. 

The colony was begun with prayers and songs of thanksgiving, but 
the bulk of the colonists were by no means religious men. Their true 
character soon began to appear. They wasted the supplies they had 
brought with them, as well as those they succeeded in extorting from 
the Indians, whom they alienated by their cruelties. Mutinies were 
frequent. The majority of the men had joined the enterprise in the hope 
of acquiring sudden wealth, and, finding their hopes vain, resolved to 
abandon the colony. They compelled Laudonniere to sign an order 
allowing them to embark for New Spain, under the {jretext of wishing 
to avoid a famine, and at once equipped two vessels and began a career 
of })iracy against the Spaniards. Their vessels were soon caj)turcd, and 
the ])irates were sold as slaves. A few escaped in a boat and took refuge 
at Fort Carolina. Laudonniere caused them to be hanged ; but their 
outrages had already drawn upon the colony the bitter hostility of the 
Spaniards. 

Famine now began to be felt by the little settlement, and as month 
after month passed by the sufferings of the colonists increased. The 
natives, who were at first friendly, had been rendered hostile by the 
cruel treatment they had received from the French, and no j)rovisions 
could be obtained from them. On the 3d of August, 1565, Sir John 
Hawkins, an English (!ommander, arrived with several ships from the 
AVest Indies, where he had just sold a cargo of negro slaves whom he 
liad kidnapped in their native Africa. He is said to have been the first 
Englishman who engaged in this infamous traffic. He proved himself a 



THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA. 83 

generous friend to the suffering colonists, however, and supplied them 
with provisions and gave them one of his own ships. They had suffered 
too much to be content with this, and were resolved to abandon the 
settlement. They were on the point of embarking in the ship furnished 
them by Sir John, when a fleet of several vessels was discovered standing 
into the river. It was the squadron of Ribault, with reinforcements and 
all the supplies necessary for founding a permanent settlement. The 
despair of the colonists was changed to rejoicing, and all were now willing 
to remain in the colony. 

When the news of the planting of the French colony in Florida 
reached Philip II. of Spain, he was greatly incensed. Florida was a 
part of his dominions, and he not only resented the intrusion of the 
French, but could not tolerate the idea of allowing a Protestant colony 
to enjoy its settlement in peace. He determined at once to exterminate 
the heretics, and for this purpose employed Pedro Melendez de Avil^s, 
an officer who had rendered himself notorious for his cruelty when en- 
gaged against the pirates and in the wars of Spanish America. His son 
and heir having been shipwrecked among the Bermudas, Melendez 
desired to return to America to search for him. Philip, who knew his 
desperate character, suggested to him the conquest of Florida, and an 
agreement was entered into between the king and Melendez, by which 
the latter was to invade and conquer Florida within three years, and 
establish in that region a colony of not less than 500 persons, of whom 
100 should be married men, twelve priests of the Catholic Church and four 
members of the order of the Jesuits. Melendez also agreed to transport 
to Florida all kinds of domestic animals, and 500 negro slaves. All this 
was to be done by Melendez at his own cost, and he was secured by the 
king in the government of the province for life with the privilege of 
naming his successor, and was granted large estates in the jirovince and a 
comfortable salary. Though the destruction of the French colony was 
not named in the agreement, Philip and Melendez understood each other 
on that point. The cry was at once raised in Spain that the heretics 
must be exterminated, and Melendez had no trouble in obtaining recruits. 
Twenty-five hundred persons gathered under his orders, "soldiers, 
sailors, priests, Jesuits, married men ,with their families, laborers and 
mechanics, and, with the exception of 300 soldiers, all at the cost of 
Melendez." 

The expedition sailed in June, 1565, but the vessels were parted by a 
storm, and Melendez reached Porto Rico in August with but a third of 
his force. Unwilling to lose time, however, he sailed at once to the 
mainland, and arrived off the coast of Florida on the 28th of August. 



84 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

On the 2d of September he discovered a fine harbor and river, and 
selected this place as the site of his colony. He named the river and 
bay in honor of St. Augustine, on whose festival he had arrived off the 
Florida coast. Ascertaining from the Indians the position of the 
French, he sailed to the nortliward, and on the 4th of September arrived 
off Fort Carolina, where a portion of Ribault's fleet lay anchored in the 
roadstead. The French commander demanded his name and the object 
of his visit. He was answered : " I am Melendez of Spain, sent with 
strict orders from my king to gibbet and behead all the Protestants in 
these regions. The Frenchman who is a Catholic I will spare ; every 
heretic shall die." The French fleet being unprepared for battle, cut its 
cables and stood out to sea. Melendez gave chase, but failed to overtake 
it. Returning to the harbor of St. Augustine, he went on shore on the 
8th of Septemljer, and took possession of the country in the name of 
Philip II. of Spain, who was proclaimed monarch of all North America. 
A solemn mass was said, and the foundations of the town of St. 
Augustine were laid. Thus was established the first permanent town 
within the limits of the United States. This task accomplished, Melendez 
prepared to attack Fort Carolina by land. 

Ribault had returned with his ships to Fort Carolina after escaping 
from the Spaniards. A council of war was held, and it was debated 
among the French whether they should strengthen their works and await 
the approach of the enemy, or proceed to St. Augustine and attack them 
with the fleet. Ribault supposed that Melendez would attack the fort by 
sea, and favored the latter plan, but his officers opposed his design. Dis- 
regarding their advice Ribault put to sea, but had scarcely cleared the 
harbor wlien a violent storm wrecked his entire fleet on the Florida coast. 
Nearly all the men reached the shore unharmed, about one hundred and 
fifty miles south of Fort Carolina. 

The wreck of the French fleet was known to Melendez, and he resolved 
to strike a blow at once at the fort, which he knew to be in a defenceless 
state. Leading his men through the forests and swamps which lay 
between the two settlements, he surprised and captured the fort on the 
21st of September. Every soul within the walls, including the aged, the 
women and children, was put to death. A few escaped to the woods 
before the capture of the fort, among whom were Laudonniere, Challus, 
and Le Moyne. Their condition was pitiable. They could expect no 
mercy from the Spaniards, and death awaited them in the forest. A few 
gave themselves up to the Spaniards, and were at once murdered ; the 
remainder succeeded in gaining the sea-shore, where they were rescued by 
two French vessels which had remained in the harbor, and escaped the 
storm. These immediately sailed for France. 



THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA. 85 

The number of persons massacred by the Spaniards at Fort Carolina 
amounted to nearly two hundred. When the victims were all dead, mass 
was said, a cross raised, and a site selected for a church. Then Melendez 
set out to find the survivors of the shipwrecked fleet. They were dis- 
covered in a helpless condition, worn out with fatigue, hunger, and thirst. 
Melendez promised to treat them with kindness if they would surrender 
to him, and trusting to his plighted word, they placed themselves in his 
hands. They were at once seized and bound, and marched towards St. 
Augustine. As they approached the settlement a signal was given, and 
the Spaniards fell upon them and massacred all but a few Catholics and 
some mechanics, who were reserved as slaves. French writers place the 
number of those who perished in the two massacres at nine hundred. 
The Spaniards give a smaller number. On the scene of his barbarity 
Melendez set up this inscription : " I do not this as unto Frenchmen, but 
as unto Lutherans." 

In 1566 Melendez attempted to plant a colony on the shores of the 
Chesapeake bay, but the vessel despatched for this purpose met such con- 
trary winds that the crew abandoned the effort to reach the bay, and 
sailed for Spain. Melendez the next year returned to Spain, having 
spent his fortune in establishing the colony of St. Augustine, from which 
he had derived no benefit. 

The massacre of the French and the destruction of the colony at Fort 
Carolina excited not even a remonstrance from the French court, which 
was blinded to its true interests by its religious bigotry. The Huguenots 
and the better part of the nation felt keenly the wrong the country had 
suffered, and Dominic de Gourges, a gallant gentleman of Gascony, 
determined to avenge it. Selling his ancestral estate, he equipped three 
vessels, and with one hundred and fifty men sailed for Florida, in 
August, 1567. He surprised and captured a Spanish fort near the site 
of Fort Carolina, and took the garrison prisoners. He spent the winter 
here, and finding himself too weak to maintain his position sailed for 
France in May, 1568. Before doing so, however, he hanged his pris- 
oners, and set up over them the inscription: "I do not this as unto 
Spaniards or mariners, but as unto traitors, robbers, and murderers." 
His expedition was disavowed by the French government, and he was 
obliged to conceal himself to escape arrest after his return to France. 

France now abandoned her efforts to colonize the southern part of 
North America, and relinquished her pretensions to Florida. Spain, on 
the other hand, gave more attention to this region, and emigrants from her 
dominions were encouraged to settle, and new colonies were formed within 
its limits. In the West Indies, and in Mexico, Central and South America, 
Spain dtiring the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was supreme. 




CHAPTER V. 

THE FIRST ENGLISH COLONY. 

The English Claim to America — Voyages of Frobisher — Exploits of Sir Francis Drake — 
Sir Humphrey Gilbert — Intends to found a Colony in America — Is lost at Sea — Sir 
Walter Raleigh obtains a Patent of Colonization — Discoveries of Amidas and Barlow — 
Kaleigh sends out a Colony to Virginia — Settlement on Roanoke Island — Its Failure — 
Arrival of Grenville — Second Eflbrt of Raleigh to Colonize Virginia — Roanoke Island 
again Settled — The " City of Raleigh " — Virginia Dare — Fate of the Colony — Death 
of Raleigh — Other Voyages of the English, 

HOUGH England had made no effort to colonize America during 
the long period we have been considering^ she never abandoned 
her claims to that region, claims which were based upon the dis- 
coveries and explorations of John and Sebastian Cabot. The 
vojages of her fishermen to Newfoundland kept the country 
fresh in the minds of the seafaring Englishmen, and from time to time 
voyages were made to the American coast for the purpose of trading with 
the savages. Under Elizabeth, who pursued the wise policy of fostering 
her navy, a race of hardy and daring sailors grew up in England, and 
carried the flag of their country iiUo every sea. In this reign Martin 
Frobisher with two small ships made a voyage to the frozen regions of 
Labrador in search of the northwest passage. He failed to find it, but 
penetrated farther north than any European had yet gone, A. d. 1o7G. 
His second voyage was made the next year, and was undertaken in the 
hope of finding gold, as one of the stones he had brought home on his 
first cruise had been pronounced by the refiners of London to contain the 
precious metal. The fleet did not advance as far north as Frobisher had 
done on his first attempt, as a large mass of yellow earth was found 
which was believed to contain gold. The ships were loaded with this, 
and all sail was made for home, only to find on reaching England that 
their cargo was but. a heap of worthless dirt. A third voyage with 
fifteen ships was attempted in 1578, but no gold was found, and the 
extreme northern latitudes wei"e ascertained to be too bleak for colo- 
nization. 

Between the years 1577 to 1580 Sir Francis Drake sailed to the 
Pucifit!, and by levying exactions upon the Spanish settlements on the 
86 



THE FIRST ENGLISH COLONY. 



87 



western coast of America acquired an immense treasure. As Bancroft 
well observes, this part of Drake's career " was but a splendid piracy 
against a nation with which his sovereign and his country professed to 
be at peace." Having acquired this enormous wealth Drake applied 
himself to the more useful task of discovery. Crossing the equator he 
sailed northward, as far as the southern part of Oregon, in the hope of 
finding a northern passage between the oceans. The cold seemed very 
great to voyagers just from the tropics, and he abandoned his attempt 
and returned southward to a harbor on the coast of Mexico. Here he 
refitted his ship, and then returned to England through the seas of Asia, 
having circumnavigated the globe, a feat which had been accomplished 
only by the ship of Magellan. 

It was not the splendid but demoralizing achievements of Drake 
which led the way to the establishment of the English power in America. 
That was the work of the humble fishermen who sailed on their yearly 
voyages to the banks of Newfoundland. The 
progress of this valuable industry was closely 
watched by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who believed 
that a lucrative trade might be opened with the 
new world by the planting of a colony within its 
limits. He obtained authority from Queen Eliza- 
beth to establish such a colony in the vicinity of 
the fisheries. In 1578 he sailed to America on 
a voyage of discovery, and in August of that 
year landed at St. Johns, Newfoundland, and 
took formal possession of the country for Eng- 
land. He then sailed to the southward, explor- 
ing the coast, but lost his largest ship with all on 

board. This made it necessary for him to return home, as the two 
vessels which remained to him were too small to attempt a protracted 
voyage. One of them, called the " Squirrel," was a mere boat of ten 
tons. Unwilling to expose his men to a danger which he would not 
face, Sir Humphrey took passage in the "Squirrel" instead of in the larger 
and safer vessel. On the homeward voyage the ships encountered a ter- 
rific storm. In the midst of the gale the people on the " Hind," tlie 
larger ship, saw Sir Humphrey sitting at the stern of his little vessel, 
which was laboring painfully in the heavy seas. He Avas calmly reading 
a book, perhaps that sublimest of books, from which he had drawn the 
pure principles which guided his whole life. As the "Hind" passed 
him he called out to those on board of her, " We are as near to heaven 
by sea as by land." That night the lights of the "Squirrel" suddenly 




SIK WALTER KALEIGH. 



88 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

disappeared, and the good Sir Humphrey was seen no more. The 
"Hind" continued her voyage, and reached Falmouth in safety. 

Sir AValter Raleigh, Gilbert's half brother, had been interested in this 
expedition, but its ill success did not dishearten him. He was one of the 
noblest spirits of his age, and has laid the world under heavy obligations 
to him by his many noble services in the cause of humanity. He had 
served in the army of the Huguenots of France under Coligni, and had 
heard from the voyagers sent out by that leader of the richness and beauty 
of Carolina. Undaunted by the sad fate of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, 
Raleigh determined to plant a colony in the region from which the Hu- 
guenots had been driven. He had no difficulty in obtaining from the 
queen a patent as liberal as that which had been granted Sir Humphrey 
Gilbert. He was given ample powers over the region he proposed to col-: 
onize, as its feudal lord, and was bound to maintain the authority of the 
queen and church of England in his possessions. He fitted out two vessels 
commanded respectively by Philip Amidas and Arthur Barlow, and sent 
them to explore the region granted to him, and to obtain accurate inform 
mation concerning it. They reached the coast of North Carolina at 
Ocracock inlet, and took formal possession of the country. They par^ 
tially explored Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, together with the neigh- 
boring coast and islands. It was the month of July, and the climate was 
delightful, the sea was calm, the atmosphere clear, and the heat was tem- 
pered by the delicious sea-breeze. The woods abounded with birds and 
echoed with their carols, and wild grapes were found in the greatest pro- 
fusion. The explorers were enchanted with this delightful region, and 
returning to England, published glowing accounts of it. They took with 
them two Indians, named Wanchese and Manteo, the latter of whom 
afterwards did good service to the colonists as an interpreter. Queen 
Elizabeth deemed her reign honored by the discoveries of Amidas and 
Barlow, and gave to the new region the name of Virginia in honor of 
England's virgin queen. 

Raleigh at once set to work to organize a colony. Emigrants volun- 
teered readily, and in a short time a fleet of seven vessels, containing one 
hundred and eight persons, apart from the crews, was in readiness. Sir 
Richard Grenville, a friend of Raleigh, and a man of tried skill and 
bravery, was given the command of the fleet, and Ralph Lane, who was 
also a man of considerable distinction, Avas made governor of the colony. 
The fleet sailed from Plymouth on the 9th of April, 1585, and after a 
long and trying voyage reached Ocracock inlet in June. Passing through 
the inlet, a settlement -svas established on Roanoke island, lying between 
Albemarle and Pamlico sounds. Expeditions were sent out to explore the 



THE FIRST ENGLISH COLONY. 



89 



surrounding country, and in one of these a silver cup was stolen by an 
Indian, and its restoration was delayed. With thoughtless cruelty Gren- 
ville punished this fault by the destruction of the village to which the 
culprit belonged, and also of all the standing corn. This inconsiderate 
revenge made the Indians the enemies of the whites, and brought great 
future suffering upon the colony. A little later, having seen tlfe colonists 
successfully established on Roanoke island, Grenville returned to Eng- 
land with the fleet, capturing a rich Spanish prize on the voyage home. 
Left to themselves the colonists began to explore the country, and to 




THE COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



observe the productions of the soil, and the character of the inhabitants. 
Many of the plants were strange to them. Among these were the Indian 
corn, tobacco, and the sweet potato. Hariot, " the inventor of the system 
of notation in modern algebra, the historian of the expedition," ob- 
served these plants and their culture with great minuteness, and became a 
firm believer in the healing virtues of tobacco. He has left an interest- 
ing account of the natives of the country and their manners and customs. 
The Indians, alarmed by the superiority of the whites, began to plot 
their destruction, as they believed their entire country would be overrun 



90 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

by the new-comers. Lane on his part became suspicious of the savages, 
and this feeling of mutual distrust had the most unhappy consequences. 
Being informed by the savages that there was a splendid city, whose walls 
glittered with gold and pearls, on the upper waters of the Roanoke, 
Governor Lane made a boat voyage up that stream, but failed to find 
anything.' He returned to the colony just in time to disconcert the plan 
of the savages for attacking the whites during the absence of the explor- 
ing party. Lane now determined to outrival the savages in perfidy. He 
visited Wingina, one of the most active of the neighboring chiefs, and, 
professing to come as a friend, was received with confidence by the Indians. 
At a given signal from the governor the whites fell upon the chief and 
his warriors, and put them to death. Lane proved himself utterly unfit 
to govern such a colony, and his people soon lost confidence in him. 
Their discontent was increased by the failure of their provisions, and they 
began to entertain the idea of abandoning the colony and returning home. 

On the 8th of June, 158G, Sir Francis Drake, with a fleet of twenty- 
three shij)s, anchored in the roadstead off Roanoke island. He had been 
cruising in the West Indies, and had called on his homeward voyage to 
visit the plantation of his friend Raleigh. He at once set to work to 
remedy the wants of the colony, and supplied the settlers with such things 
as they needed. They were thoroughly disheartened, however, with their 
year's experience, and begged Drake so earnestly to take them back to 
England that he received them on board his ships and put to sea. Thus 
the first effort of the English to settle America resulted in failure. 
Drake's fleet had scarcely disappeared when a ship loaded with supplies, 
which had been despatched by Raleigh, reached the island. Finding the 
place deserted, the commander returned to England. A fortnight later, 
Grenville arrived with three ships. Finding the colonists had gone, he 
too returned to England, leaving fifteen men to hold the island. 

Raleigh was greatly disappointed by the failure of his colony, but he 
did not despair of success; for, notwithstanding the gloomy stories of 
Lane and his followers, the conclusive testimony of Hariot convinced him 
that the country could be made to yield a rich return for the trouble and 
expense of its settlement ; and he set to work to form another colony. 
With the hope of giving the settlers a permanent interest in the planta- 
tion, he selected emigrants with wives and families, who should regard 
the new world as their future home, and endeavor to found a permanent 
state in that region. Everything was provided which could contribute to 
the success of the colony, and agricultural implements were furnished for 
the proper cultivation of the soil. All the expense of the undertaking 
was borne by Raleigh, for though Queen Elizabeth greatly favored the 



THE FIRST ENGLISH COLONY. 91 

venture, she declined to contribute anything toward it. John White was 
appointed governor of the colony. A fleet of transport vessels was 
equipped, also at Raleigh's expense, and on the 26th of April, 1587, the 
expedition sailed from England. The coast of North Carolina was 
reached in July. 

The approach to Roanoke island was both difficult and dangerous, and 
Raleigh ordered the new settlers to select a site for their colony on the 
shores of the Chesapeake bay. The expedition proceeded first, however, 
to Roanoke island to search for the men left there by Grenville. They 
could not be found. The island was deserted, the fort was in ruins, and 
the human bones which lay scattered over the field told plainly that the 
unfortunate garrison left by Grenville had been murdered by the Indians. 
Governor White was now anxious to sail to the Chesapeake, but Fernando, 
the commander of the fleet, refused to proceed any farther, as he wished 
to go to the West Indies for purposes of trade. The instructions of 
Raleigh were thus disregarded, and the colonists were compelled, to go 
ashore on Roanoke island. The old settlement of Governor Lane was 
rebuilt, and another effort was made to establish the " city of Raleigh." 
The Indians were bitterly hostile to the settlers, and a friendly tribe was 
offended by an unfortunate attack upon them, made upon the supposition 
that they were hostile Indians. The settlers becoming alarmed, implored 
the governor to return to England and exert himself to hasten the send- 
ing out of reinforcements and supplies to them. He was unwilliug to do 
this, as he deemed it his duty to remain among them, but at length yielded 
to their unanimous appeal. Just before his departure his daughter, Mrs. 
Dare, the wife of one of his lieutenants, gave birth to a daughter, the first 
child born of English parents within the limits of the United States, and 
the little one was named Virginia from the place of its birth. 

White sailed for England in August, 1587. He found the mother 
country greatly excited over the threatened invasion of the Spaniards. 
Raleigh, who was energetically engaged in the efforts for the defence of 
the country, did not neglect his colony. He fitted out two ships with the 
needed supplies, and despatched them under White's orders in April, 1588. 
The commanders, instead of proceeding direct to the colony, undertook to 
make prizes. At last one of them fell in with a man-of-war from 
Rochelle, and after a sharp fight was plundered of her stores. Both ships 
were obliged to return to England, to the anger and disgust of Raleigh. 
The approach of the Invincible Armada and the exertions demanded of 
the nation for its defeat, made it impossible for anything more to be done 
for the colonists at Roanoke until after the Spanish fleet had been 
destroyed. Even then Raleigh, who had spent over forty thousand 



92 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

pounds without return, was unable to send aid at once to the colony, and 
a year elapsed before a vessel could be sent out under White. In 1590, 
the governor reached Roanoke, but no trace of the colony could be found. 
The settlers had either died, or been massacred, or had been taken prisoners 
and carried by the Indians into the interior of the continent. " The con- 
jecture has been hazarded," says Bancroft, "that the deserted colony, 
neglected by their own countrymen, were hospitably adopted into the 
tribe of Hatteras Indians, and became amalgamated with the sons of the 
forest. This was the tradition of the natives at a later day, and was 
thought to be confirmed by the physical character of the tribe, in which 
the English and the Indian race seemed to have been blended." The gen- 
erous heart of Raleigh could not bear to leave his countrymen unaided 
while a single hope of finding them remained, and he is said to have sent 
to America as many as five expeditions at his own cost, to search for them. 

With the failure of the settlement at Roanoke Raleigh relinquished 
his hope of colonizing Virginia. He had expended nearly his entire 
fortune in the undertaking, and the remainder of his life was passed 
under the cloud of undeserved misfortune. His career as a statesman 
was honorable to himself and to his country, and he proved himself in 
all his acts a loyal subject and a devoted patriot. His zeal in behalf of 
knowledge jnade him a generous friend of the learned, and he merits the 
gratitude of the American people, not only for his efforts to colonize our 
shores with his countrymen, but for the liberality with which he spread 
a knowledge of America throughout England by his publication of the 
reports of Hariot and Hakluyt. He opened the way for the dominion 
of the English in the new world, and his memory is preserved in the 
name of the capital city of the great State which he sought to make the 
seat of an English empire. 

Upon the accession of James I., Raleigh, broken in health and fortune, 
but still the most illustrious Englishman of his day, was arraigned on a 
charge of hiw-h treason, of which not even his enemies believed him 
guilty, and was sentenced to the Tower, as the king did not yet dare to 
order his execution. During this period Sir Walter beguiled the weari- 
ness of his imprisonment by composing his " History of the AVorld." 
He remained a prisoner for thirteen years, and was then released on 
condition of making a voyage to Guiana in search of gold. His failure 
to accomplish the object of the voyage sealed his doom, and on his return 
to England he was beheaded, not upon any fresh charge, but on his old 
sentence. His real fault was that he was too true an Englishman to 
sustain the sacrifice of the national honor by King James to the demands 
of Spain, and lie was generally regarded by the nation as the victim of 



THE FIRST ENGLISH COLONY. 93 

the king's cowardice. He met his fate with the calm bravery which had 
marked his whole life. 

Until now the voyage from England to America had been made by 
way of the Canary islands and the West Indies. In 1602, Bartholomew 
Gosnold conceived the idea of proceeding direct from England to Vir- 
ginia, as the whole region north of Florida was called by the English. 
Sailing directly across the Atlantic, he reached Cape Elizabeth, on the 
coast of Maine, after a voyage of seven weeks. Proceeding southward 
along the coast he reached Cape Cod, to which he gave the name on the 
15th of May, and went ashore there. He was thus the first Englishman 
to set foot in New England. He continued his voyage along the coast 
and entered Buzzard's bay. To the westernmost of the islands of this 
stately sound he gave the name of Elizabeth — a name which has since 
been applied to the entire group. Loading his ship with sassafras root, 
which was then highly esteemed for its medicinal virtues, Gosnold sailed 
for England, and arrived home safely after a voyage of less than four 
weeks. He gave the most favorable accounts of the region he had visited, 
and other adventurers were induced by his reports to undertake voyages 
for the purpose of trading with the natives. Among these was George 
Way mouth, who reached and explored the coast of Maine in 1605. On 
his return voyage Wayraouth kidnapped five Indians and carried them 
to England, "to be instructed in English, and to serve as guides to some 
future expedition." 

The voyages of Gosnold and Waymouth to the coast of New England 
were followed by those of numerous other English adventurers. In 
1614, Captain John Smith, who had already distinguished himself by 
his services in Virginia, made a voyage to America with two ships, 
furnished at the expense of himself and four merchants of London. The 
voyage was for the purpose of trading with the natives, and was very 
successful. Smith took advantage of the opportunity to explore the 
coast from the Penobscot to Cape Cod. He prepared a map of the coast, 
and named the country New England — a title which was confirmed by 
the Prince of Wales, afterwards Charles I. After Smith's return to 
England, Hunt, the commander of the other vessel, succeeded in inducing 
twenty of the natives, with their chief Squanto, to visit his ship, and as 
soon as they were on board put to sea. He sold the savages as slaves in 
Spain. A few of them, Squanto among the number, were purchased by 
some kind-hearted monks, who instructed them in the Christian faith in 
order to send them back to their own people as missionaries of the cross. 
Squanto escaped to England in 1619, and there learned the language, 
and was afterward an interpreter between the English settlers and his 
people. 



CHAPTER YI. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 

Formation of the London Company — Conditions of its Charter — Departure of the first 
Colony— Quarrels during the Voyage — Arrival in the Chesapeake — Settlement of 
Jamestown — Formation of the Government — Character of Captain John Smith — Explor- 
ation of the James River — Newport and Smith visit Powhatan — Smith Admitted to the 
GDvernment — Explores the Chickahominy — Is Captured and Sentenced to Death — Is 
Saved by Pocahontas — Gains the Friendship of Powhatan for the Colony — Returns to 
Jamestown — His Decisive Measures — Return of Newport — Smith Explores the Chesa- 
peake Bay — The new Emigrants — Smith compels them to Labor — Smith is Wounded 
and compelled to return to England — Disasters to the Colony — Arrival of Sir Thomas 
Gates — Jamestown Abandoned — Arrival of Lord Delaware — The Return to Jamestown 
— A Change for the Better — New Settlements — Sir Thomas Gates arrives with Rein- 
forcements — Capture of Pocahontas by Captain Argall — She is Baptized — Marries John 
Eolfe — Sir Thomas Dale's Administration— Yeardley Governor — The first Legislative 
Assembly — Representative Government established in America — The Colonists obtain 
Wives — Changes in the Government. 

fHE favorable reports which had been brouglit back to England 
by the voyagers to the new world had prevented the interest 
r Xf"^ of Englishmen in America from entirely dying out, and some 
C(3^ ardent spirits still believed it possible to make that continent the 
seat of a prosperous dominion dependent upon England. The 
former assistants of Raleigh, in particular, held to the convictions which 
their chief had entertained to the day of his death. The selfish and 
timid policy of King James having made it impossible for men to acquire 
distinction by naval exploits, as in the days of Elizabeth, the more adven- 
turous classes lent a willing ear to the plans for colonizing America, 
which were discussed in various parts of the kingdom. Bartholomew 
Gosnold, who had explored the New England coast, was especially active 
in seeking to induce capitalists to send out a colony to it. Sir Ferdinand 
Gorges, a M'ealthy gentleman and Governor of Plymouth, had been 
greatly interested in America by the accounts of W'aymouth, who had 
given him two of the Indians he had brought to England. These 
succeeded in interesting others in their ]>lans, and the result was, that 
early in the reign of King James two companies were formed in England 
for the colonization of America. One of these was the " London 
94 




THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 95 

Company," composed chiefly of noblemen and merchants residing in 
London. Tlie other was the "Plymouth Company," composed of 
" knights, gentlemen, and merchants," residing in the west of England. 
King James divided Virginia into two parts. To the London Company 
he granted "South Virginia," extending from Cape Fear, in North 
Carolina, to the Potomac. To the Plymouth Company he gave " North 
Virginia," stretching from the Hudson to Newfoundland. The region 
between the Potomac and the Hudson he left as a broad belt of neutral 
land to keep the companies from encroaching upon each other's domains. 
Either was at liberty to form settlements in this region within fifty miles 
of its own border. 

The London Company was the first to settle the country assigned it. 
A liberal charter was granted the company : the lands in the new world 
were to be held by it on the simple conditions of homage and the payment 
to the crown of one-fifth of the gold and silver and one-fifteenth of the 
copper that should be discovered. A general council, residing in 
England, was to have authority 
over the whole province, and the 
members of this council were to be 




COAT OF ARMS OF VIRGINIA. 



appointed and removed by the king ^ 
at his good pleasure. Each separate *"^ 
colony was to be under the control 
of a colonial council residing within 
its own limits, and the king retained 
the right to direct the appointment or removal of the members of these 
councils at his pleasure. The king also reserved the supreme legislative 
authority over the colonies, and framed for their government a code of 
laws— "an exercise of royal legislation which has been pronounced in 
itself illegal." The colonists were placed by this code under the rule of 
the superior and local councils we have named, in the choice of which 
they had no voice. The religion of the Church of England was estab- 
lished as that of the colony, and conformity to it was secured by severe pen- 
alties. Death was the punishment for murder, manslaughter, adultery, 
dangerous seditions and tumults. In all cases not affecting life and limb 
offenders might be tried by a magistrate, but for capital offences trial by 
jury was secured. In the former cases the punishment of the offender 
was at the discretion of the president and council. The Indians were to 
be treated with kindness, and efforts were to be made for their conversion 
to Christianity. For five years at least the affairs of the colonists were 
to be conducted in a joint stock. The right to imjDose future legislation 
upon the province Avas reserved by the king. Such was the form of 



96 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

government first prescribed for Virginia by England, in whicli, as 
Bancroft truly says, there was " not an element of popular liberty." " To 
the emio-rants themselves it conceded not one elective franchise, not one 
of the rights of self-government. They were to be subjected to the 
ordinances of a commercial corporation, of which they could not be 
members ; to the dominion of a domestic council, in appointing which 
they had no voice ; to the control of a superior council in England, which 
had no sympathy with their rights ; and finally, to the arbitrary legisla- 
tion of the sovereign." 

Under this charter the London Company prepared to send out a colony 
to Virginia. It was to be a commercial settlement, and the emigrants 
were composed altogether of men. One hundred and five persons, 
exclusive of the crews of the vessels, joined the expedition. Of these not 
twenty were farmers or mechanics. The remainder were "gentlemen," 
or men who had ruined themselves at home by idleness and dissipation. 
A fleet of three small ships, under command of Captain Newport, was 
assembled, and on the 19th of December, 1606, sailed for America. 

The emigrants sailed without having perfected any organization. The 
king had foolishly placed the names of those who were to constitute the 
government in a scaled box, which the adventurers were ordered not to 
open until they had selected a site for their settlement and were ready to 
form a government. This was most unfortunate, for during the long 
voyage dissensions arose, and there was no one in the expedition who 
possessed the authority requisite for controlling the unruly spirits. These 
quarrels grew more intense with the lapse of time, and when the shores 
of Virginia were reached the seeds of many of the evils from which the 
colony afterwards suffered severely had been thoroughly sown. There 
were among the number several who were well qualified to direct the 
affairs of the expedition, but they were without the proper authority to 
do so, and there was no such thing as voluntary submission to be seen 
among the adventurers. The merits of the deserving merely excited the 
jealous) of tlioir companions, and the great master spirit of the enterprise 
found from the first his disinterested efforts for the good of the expedi- 
tion met by a jealous and determined opposition. 

Newport was not acquainted with the direct route, and made the old 
passage by way of the Canaries and the West Indies. He thus consumed 
the whole of the winter, and Avhile searching for the island of Roanoke, 
the scene of Raleigh's colony, his fleet was driven northward by a severe 
storm, and forced to take refuge in the Chesapeake bay on the 26th of 
April, 1607. He named the headlands of this bay Cape Henry and 
Cai)e Charles, in lionor of the two sons of James I., and because of the 



THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 97- 

comfortable anchorage which he obtained in the splendid roadstead which 
enters the bay opposite its mouth, he gave to the northern point the name 
of Point Comfort, which it has since borne. Passing this, a noble river 
was discovered coming from the westward, and was named the James, in 
honor of the English king. The country was explored with energy, and 
though one small tribe of Indians was found to be hostile, a treaty of 
peace and friendship was made with another at Hampton. The fleet 
ascended the river, and explored it for fifty miles. A pleasant peninsula, 
on the left bank of the stream, was selected as the site of the colony, and 
on the 13th of May, 1607, the settlement was definitely begun, and was 
named Jamestown, in honor of the king. 

The leading spirit of the enterprise was John Smith, one of the truest 
heroes of history, who has been deservedly called " the father of Vir- 
ginia." He was still a young man, being but thirty years of age, but he 
was old in experience and knightly deeds. While yet a youth he had 
served in Holland in the ranks of the army of freedom, and had travelled 
through France, Egypt, and Italy. Burning to distinguish himself, he 
had repaired to Hungary, and had won a brilliant reputation by his ex- 
ploits in the ranks of the Christian army engaged in the defence of that 
country against the Mohammedans. He repeatedly defeated the chosen 
champions of the Turks in single combat, but being at length captured 
was sent to Constantinople and sold as a slave. The wife of his master, 
pitying his misfortunes, sent him to a relative in the Crimea, with a re- 
quest to treat him with kindness, but contrary to her wishes he was sub- 
jected to the greatest harshness. Rendered desperate by this experience, 
he rose against his task-master, slew him, and seizing his horse, escaped 
to the border of the Russian territory, where he was kindly received. 
He wandered across the country to Transylvania, and rejoined his old 
companions in arms. Then filled with a longing to see his " own sweet 
country " once more, he returned to England. He arrived just as the 
plans for the colonization of Virginia were being matured. He readily 
engaged in the expedition organized by the London Company, and exerted 
himself in a marked degree to make it a success. He was in all respects 
the most capable man in the whole colony, for his natural abilities were 
fully equal to his experience. He had studied human nature under 
many forms in many lands, and in adversity and danger had learned 
patience and fortitude. His calm, cool courage, his resolute will, and his 
intuitive perception of the necessities of a new settlement, were destined 
to make him the main stay of the colony of Virginia, but as yet these 
high qualities had only excited the malicious envy of his associates, and 
7 



98 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the efforts he had made to heal the dissensions which had broken out 
during the voyage had made him many enemies. 

When the box containing the names of those who Avere to constitute 
the colonial government was opened, it was found that the king had ap- 
pointed John Smith one of the council. Smith was at this time in con- 
finement, having been arrested on the voyage upon the frivolous charges 
of sedition and treason against the crown, and his enemies, notwithstand- 
ing the royal appointment, excluded him from the council. Edward 
Wingfield, " a grovelling merchant of the west of England," was chosen 

president of the 
council and gover- 
nor of the colony. 
The services of 
Smith could not be 
dispensed with, 
however, and he 
was released from 
his confinement, and 
sent with Newport 
and twenty others 
to explore the river. 
They ascended the 
James to the falls, 
where the city of 
Richmond now 
stands, and visited 
Powhatan, tlie 
principal chief of 
the Indian nation 
holding the country 
into which they liad 
come. He w a s 
then dwelling at his favorite seat on the left bank of the river, a few 
miles below the falls. Powhatan received them kindly, and silenced the 
remonstrances of his people by saying : " They hurt you not ; they only 
want a little land." The chief was a man of powerful stature, " tall, sour 
and athletic." He was sixty years of age, and had under him a popula- 
tion of six or eight thousand souls, two thousand being warriors. Hav- 
ing carefully observed the river. Smith and Newport returned to James- 
town. 

Their presence there was needed, for Wingfield had proved himself 




CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 99 

utterly unfit to govern the colony. He would not allow the colonists to 
build either houses for themselves or a fortification for the common de- 
fence against the savages. While they were in this helpless condition, 
they were suddenly attacked by a force of four hundred Indians, and 
were saved from destruction only by the fire of the shipping, which filled 
the savages with terror and put them to flight. It is believed that the 
cause of Wingfield's singular conduct was his jealousy of Smith, whose 
talents he feared would attract the support of the settlers. The fort was 
now built without delay, cannon were mounted, and the men trained in 
the exercise of arms. When the ships were in readiness to sail to Eng- 
land, it was intimated to Smith that he would consult his own interests 
by returning in them, but he refused to do so, and boldly demanded a 
trial upon the charges which had been preferred against him. The coun- 
cil did not dare to refuse him this trial, and the result was his triumphant 
acquittal. More than this, he succeeded so well in exposing the malice 
of his enemies that the president, as the originator of the charges against 
him, was compelled to pay him two hundred pounds damages, which sum 
Smith generously applied to the needs of the colony. His seat in the 
council could no longer be denied him, and he took his place at the board 
to the great gain of the colony. 

Newport sailed for England about the middle of June, leaving the 
settlement in a most pitiable condition. The provisions sent out from 
England had been spoiled on the voyage, and the colonists were too 
indolent to cultivate the land, or to seek to obtain supplies from the 
Indians. Sickness broke out among them, owing to the malarious 
character of their location, and by the beginning of the winter more than 
half their number had died. Among these was Bartholomew Gosnold, 
the originator of the London Company, who had come out to Virginia to 
risk his life in the eifort to settle the country. He was a man of rare 
merits, and, together with Mr. Hunt, " the preacher," who was also one 
of the projectors of the company, had contributed successfully to the 
preservation of harmony in the colony. In the midst of these sufferings 
it was found that Wingfield was preparing to load the pinnace with the 
remainder of the stores and escape to the West Indies. He was deposed 
by the council, who appointed John Ratcliffe in his place. 

The new president was not much better than his predecessor. He 
was incapable of discharging the duties of his office, and was perfectly 
satisfied that Smith should direct the affairs of the settlement for him. 
Erom this time Smith was the actual head of the government. Food 
was the prime necessity of the colony, and as it was now too late to raise 
it, Smith exerted himself to obtain it from the Indians. He purchased a 



100 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



supply, and towards the close of the autumn the wild fowl which frequent 
tlie region furnished an additional means of subsistence. 

The danger of a famine thus removed, Smith proceeded to explore the 
country. In one of these expeditions he ascended the Chickahominy as 
far as he could penetrate in his boat, and then leaving it in charge of two 
men, struck into the interior with an Indian guide. His men disobeyed 
his instructions, and were surprised and put to death by the Indians. 
Smith himself was taken prisoner, and deeply impressed his captors by 
his cool courage and self-possession. Instead of begging for his life, he 
set to work to convince them of his superiority over them, and succeeded 




POCAHONTAS RESCUING CAPTAIN SMITH. 



SO well that they regarded him with a sort of awe. He astonished them 
by showing them his pocket compass and ex})laining to them its uses, and 
excited their admiration by writing a letter to his friends at Jamestown 
informirig them of his situation, and of the danger to which they were 
exposed from a contemplated attack of the Indians. One of the savages 
bore the letter to its destination. 

Smith had been captured by Opechancanough, a powerful chieftain of 
the Pamunkey Indians; but as the curiosity o^ the neighboring tribes 
was greatly aroused by his presence, he was led in triumph from the 
Chickahominy to the villages on the Kappahannock and the Potomac, 



THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 101 

and then taken through other towns to the residence of Opechancanough, 
on the Pamunkey. Here the medicine men of the tribe held a three 
days' incantation over him to ascertain his character and design. All 
this while his demeanor was calm and fearless, as if he entertained no 
apprehension for his safety. He was regarded by the savages as a 
superior being, and was treated with kindness,, though kept a close 
prisoner. His fate was referred to Powhatan for decision, as the other 
tribes feared to bring the blood of such an extraordinary being upon- 
their heads. Powhatan was then residing at Werowocomoco, which lay 
on the north side of Fork river, in what is now Gloucester county, 
Virginia. He received the captive in great state, surrounded by his 
warriors. " He wore," says Smith, " such a grave and majestical counte- 
nance as drove me into admiration to see." Brought into the presence 
of Powhatan, Smith was received with a shout from the assembled 
warriors. A handsome young squaw brought him water to wash his 
hands, and another gave him a bunch of feathers to dry them. Food 
was then set before him, and while he applied himself to the repast a 
consultation was held by the savages as to his fate. Smith watched the 
proceedings closely, and was aware from the gestures of the council that 
his death had been determined upon. Two great stones were then 
brought into the assembly and laid before the king. The captive was 
seized and dragged to the stones, forced down, and his head laid upon 
them. Two brawny savages stood by to beat out his brains with their 
clubs. During these proceedings, Pocahontas, a child of ten or twelve 
years, "dearly loved daughter" of Powhatan, touched with pity for the 
unfortunate stranger, had been earnestly pleading with her father to 
spare his life. Failing in this, she sprang forward at the moment the 
executioners were about to despatch their victim, and throwing herself 
by his side, clasped her arms about his neck and laid her head upon 
his to protect him from the impending stroke. This remarkable action 
in a child so young moved the savages with profound astonishment. 
They regarded it as a manifestation of the will of heaven in favor 
of the captive, and it was determined to spare his life and seek his 
friendship. 

Smith was released from his bonds, and was given to Pocahontas to 
make beads and bells for her, and to weave for her ornaments of copper. 
The friendship which the innocent child of the forest conceived for him 
grew stronger every day, and ceased only with her life. Powhatan took 
him into his fiivor, and endeavored to induce him to abandon the English 
and cast his lot with him. He even sought to obtain his aid in an attack 
upon the colony. Smith declined these oifers, and by his decision of 



102 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



character succeeded in averting the hostility of the savages from his 
friends at Jamestown, and in winning their good-will for the English. 
In a short while the Indians allowed him to return to Jamestown, upon 
his promise to send to King Powhatan two cannon and a grindstone. 
Upon arriving at Jamestown he showed the Indians who had accom- 
panied him two of the largest cannon, and asked them to lift them. This 
was impossible; nor could they succeed any better with the grindstone. 
Smith then discharged the cannon in their presence, which so frightened 
them that they refused to have anything to do with them. Having 
evaded his promise in this manner, Smith bestowed more suitable presents 
upon his guides, and sent them home with gifts for Powhatan and 

Pocahontas. The savage king was 
doubtless well satisfied to let the 
" great guns " alone after hearing the 
report of his messengers concerning 
them, and was greatly pleased with 
the gifts sent him. 

Smith found the colony at James- 
town reduced to forty men and affairs 
in great confusion. His companions 
had believed that he had fallen a 
victim to the hostility of the Indians, 
and he was greeted with delight, as 
the need of his firm hand had been 
sadly felt. He found that a party of 
malcontents were preparing to run 
away from the colony with the pin- 
nace, and he at once rallied his sup- 
porters and trained the guns of the 
fort upon the little vessel, and avowed 
his determination to fire upon the 
mutineers if they sought to depart. His firmness put an end to this 
danger, and the friendly relations which he had managed to establish 
with the Indians now enabled him to buy from the savages the food 
necessary to sustain the colonists through the winter. In many ways his 
captivity proved a great blessing to the settlement. He had not only 
explored the country between the James and Potomac, and gained con- 
siderable knowledge of the language and customs of the natives, but had 
disposed the Indian tribes subject to Powhatan to regard the colony with 
friendshi]) at the most critical period of its existence. Had the savages 
been hostile during this winter the Jamestown colony must have perished 




POCAHONTAS. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 103 

of starvation ; but now, every few days throughout this season, Poca- 
hontas came to the fort accompanied by a number of her countrymen 
bearing baskets of corn for the whites. 

In the spring of 1608, Newport arrived from England, bringing with 
him a reinforcement of one hundred and twenty emigrants. The new- 
comers were joyfully welcomed by the colonists, but they proved of no 
real advantage to the settlement. They were either idlers or goldsmiths 
who had come out to America in the hope of finding gold. The refiners 
of the party believed 'they had found the precious metal in a heap of 
glittering earth, of which there was an abundance near Jamestown, and 
in spite of the remonstrances of Smith, would do nothing but dig gold. 
Newport, who shared the delusion, loaded his ships with the worthless 
earth, and sailed for England after a sojourn in the colony of fourteen 
weeks. 

While these fruitless labors were in progress, Smith, thoroughly 
disgusted with the folly of the emigrants, undertook the exploration of 
the Chesapeake bay. He spent the summer of 1608 in visiting the shores 
of the bay and ascending its tributaries in an open boat, accompanied by 
a few men. He explored the Chesapeake to the Susquehanna, ascended 
the Potomac to the falls, and explored the Patapsco. This voyage 
embraced a total distance of nearly three thousand miles, and resulted not 
only in the gaining of accurate information respecting the country border- 
ing the Chesapeake, but also in establishing friendly relations with the 
tribes along its shores, and preparing the way for future friendly inter- 
course with them. The energetic explorer prepared a map of the 
Chesapeake and its tributaries, and sent it to his employers in England, 
by whom it was published. It is yet in existence, and its accuracy and 
minuteness have often elicited the praise of subsequent topographers. 

Smith returned to Jamestown on the 7th of September, and three days 
later was made president of the council. The good effects of his admin- 
istration were soon felt. In the autumn, however, another reinforcement 
of idle and useless men arrived. Smith, indignant at the continual 
arrival of such worthless persons, wrote to the company : " When you 
send again, I entreat you rather send but thirty carpenters, husbandmen, 
gardeners, fishermen, blacksmiths, masons, and diggers up of trees' roots, 
well provided, than a thousand of such as we have." Upon the return 
of the fleet to England the governor exerted his authority to compel the 
idlers to go to work. It was ordered that six hours in each day should 
be spent in useful labor by each person, and that " he who would not 
work might not eat." In a short while the settlement began to assume 
the appearance of a regular habitation ; but still so little land had been 



104 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



cultivated — only about thirty or forty acres in all — that during the 
winter of 1608-'9, the settlers were compelled to depend upon the Indians 
for food. Yet the prudent management of Smith kept the colony in 
good health, and during the winter not more than seven men died out of 
two hundred. 

In the spring of 1609, great changes were made in the London 




BUILDING OF JAMESTOWN. 



Company, and a more earnest interest was manifested in the colony by all 
classes of the English people. Subscriptions were made to the stock of 
the company by many noblemen as well as merchants, and a new charter 
was obtained. By this charter the stockholders had the power to ap]>oint 
the supreme council in England, and to this council were confided the 
powers of legislation and government, which were relinquished by the 



THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 105 

king. The council appointed the governor of the colony, who was to 
rule the settlement with absolute authority according to the instructions 
of the council. He was made master of the lives and liberties of the 
settlers by being authorized to declare martial law whenever in his 
judgment the necessity for that measure should arise, and was made the 
sole executive officer in its administration. Thus the emigrants were 
deprived of every civil right, and were placed at the mercy of a governor 
appointed by a corporation whose only object was to make money. The 
company, however, defeated this object by the manner in which it selected 
emigrants. Instead of sending out honest and industrious laborers who 
were capable of building up a state, they sent only idlers and vagabonds, 
men who were neither willing nor fit to work. The common stock 
feature was maintained, and thus the greatest obstacle to industry that 
could be devised was placed in the way of the success of the colonv. 
Still there were many who were willing to seek the new world even 
under these conditions, and many others whose friends desired to get 
them out of the country. The company was soon able to equip a fleet of 
nine vessels containing more than five hundred emigrants, and a stock of 
domestic animals and fowls was included in the outfit of the expedition. 
Lord Delaware, a nobleman whose character commanded the confidence 
of his countrymen, was made governor of the colony for life. As he was 
not able to sail with the expedition, he delegated his authority during his 
absence to Newport, who was admiral of the fleet, Sir Thomas Gates, and 
Sir George Somers, who were to govern the colony until his arrival. 
The fleet sailed in the spring of 1609, but when off the American coast 
was overtaken by a severe storm, and two vessels — on one of which the 
admiral and the commissioners had sailed — were wrecked on one of the 
Bermuda islands. 

Seven ships reached Virginia, and brought the M'-orst lot of emigrants 
that had yet been sent out to the colony. Smith Avas still acting presi- 
dent, and as the commissioners had not arrived, was determined to hold 
his position until relieved by his lawful successors. The new emigrants 
at first refused to recognize his authority, but he compelled them to sub- 
mit, and in order to lessen the evil of their presence, divided them into 
bodies sufficiently numerous for safety, and sent them to make settlements 
in other parts of Virginia. These settlements proved so many failures, 
and, unfortunately for the colony, Smith was so severely wounded by an 
accidental explosion of gunpowder, in the autumn of 1609, that he was 
obliged to relinquish the government and return to England for surgical 
treatment. He delegated his authority to George Percy, and sailed for 
England, never to return to Virginia again. It was to him alone that 



106 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the company owed the success of the colony, but he received in return 
nothing but ingratitude. 

The departure of Smith was followed by the most disastrous conse- 
quences. There was no longer an acknowledged government in Virginia, 
and the settlers gave themselves up to the most reckless idleness. Their 
provisions were quickly consumed, and the Indiana refused to furnish 
them with any more. The friendship of the savages had been due to 
their personal regard for Smith, who had compelled the colonists to respect 
their rights and to refrain from maltreating them. Now that Smith was 
no longer at the head of affairs, the Indians regarded the settlers with 
the contempt they fully merited, and hostilities soon began. Stragglers 
from the town were cut off, and parties who went out to seek food among 
the savages were deliberately murdered. On one occasion a plan was 
laid to surprise the town and massacre the colonists. The danger was 
averted by Pocahontas, who stole from her father's camp, through night 
and storm, to give warning to the settlers. Failing in this effort the 
Indians resolved to starve the colony, and soon the whites began to 
experience the sufferings of a famine. Thirty of them seized one of the 
ships, escaped to sea, and began a course of piracy. In six mouths the 
four hundred and ninety persons left by Smith in the colony at his depar- 
ture had dwindled clown to sixty; and this wretched remnant would have 
perished speedily had not aid reached them. 

On the 24th of May, IGIO, Sir Thomas Gates and the members of the 
expedition who had been WTCcked on the Bermudas reached Jamestown 
after a stay of nine months on those islands, during which time they had 
built two vessels from the wreck of their ship and the w^ood found on the 
island. In these they managed to reach Virginia, expecting to find the 
colony in a prosperous condition. They found instead the sixty men 
already mentioned, so feeble and full of despair as to be helpless. In the 
general despondency it was determined to abandon the colony, sail to 
Newfoundland, and join the fishing vessels which came annually from 
England to that island. Son)e of the emigrants wished to burn the town, 
but this was prevented by the resolute conduct of Sir Thomas Gates. On 
the 7th of June the settlers embarked, and that night dropped down the 
James with the tide. The next morning they were astonished to meet a 
fleet of vessels entering the river. It was Lord Delaware, who had 
arrived with fresh emigrants and supplies. The fugitives hailed the 
arrival of the governor with delight, and put about and ascended the 
stream with him. A fair wind enabled them to reach Jamestown the 
same night. 

On the 10th of June, 1610, the foundations of the colony were solemnly 



THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 



107 



relaid with prayer and supplication to Almighty God for success in the 
effort to establish a state. The authority of Lord Delaware silenced all 
dissensions, and his equitable but firm administration soon placed the 
settlement on a more successful basis than it had yet occupied. The 
labors of each day were opened with prayer in the little church, after 
which, from six in the morning till ten, and from two in the afternoon 
until four, all engaged in the tasks demanded of them. The good effects 
of the new system were soon manifest in the increased comfort and pros- 
perity of the colony. In about a year the health of Lord Delaware gave 
way, and he delegated his authority to George Percy, whom Smith had 
chosen as his successor, and returned to England. 

Fortunately for the colony, the company, before the arrival of Lord 
Delaware in England, had sent out Sir Thomas Dale with supplies. He 
reached Jamestown in May, 1611, and finding Lord Delaware gone, 
assumed the govern men t. He 
brought with him a code of laws, 
prepared and sent out by Sir Thomas 
Smith, the treasurer of the company, 
without the order or sanction of the 
council, and which established mar- 
tial law as the rule of the colony. 
Though he ruled with such a stern 
hand, Dale rendered good service to 
Virginia by recommending to the 
company to maintain the settlement 
at all hazards as certain of yielding 
them a rich reward in the end. This 
energetic appeal so greatly encour- 
aged the council, which had been 

considerably disheartened by Lord Delaware's return, that in the summer 
of 1611 Sir Thomas Gates was sent out to Virginia with six ships and 
three hundred emigrants. He carried also a stock of cattle and abundant 
supplies. The emigrants sent out with him were of a better character 
and more industrious than any that had yet left England for Virginia. 
Gates assumed the government, and matters began to prosper again. The 
colony now numbered seven hundred persons, and was deemed so pros- 
perous that Dale, with the approval of the governor, led a number of the 
men to the vicinity of the falls of the James, and there established another 
settlement, which was called Henrico in honor of the Prince of Wales. 
Among the changes for the better was the assignment to each settler of a 
few acres of land for his own cultivation. This " incipient establishment 




WIFE OF A CHIEF 



108 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of private property " produced the happiest results, and from this time 
there was no scarcity of j^rovisions in the colony, which became so power- 
ful and prosperous as to be no longer exposed to the mercy of the savages. 
The Indians themselves were quick to notice this change, and some of 
the neighboring tribes by formal treaty acknowledged themselves subjects 
of King James. 

The whites, however, did not always respect the rights of the Indians. 
Late in 1613, Pocahontas was betrayed into the hands of a foraging party 
under Captain Argall. Argall kept her a prisoner, and demanded of 
Powhatan a ransom. For three months Powhatan did not deign to reply 
to this demand, but prepared for war. In the meantime Pocahontas Avas 
instructed in the faith of the Christians, and at length openly embraced 
it, and was baptized. Her conversion was hastened by a powerful senti- 
ment, which had taken possession of her heart. She had always regarded 
the English as superior to her own race, and now her affections were Avon 
by a young Englishman of good character, named John Rolfe. Rolfe, 
M'ith the approval of the governor, asked her hand of her father in 
marriage. Powhatan consented to the union, but refused to be present at 
the marriage, as he was too shrewd to place his person in the hands of the 
English. He sent his brother Opachisco and two of his sons to witness 
the marriage, which was solemnized in the little church at Jamestown, 
in the presence of Sir Thomas Dale, the acting governor. The marriage 
conciliated Powhatan and his tribe, who continued their peaceful rela- 
tions with the colony. King James, however, Mas greatly displeased at 
what he deemed the presumption of a subject in wedding a princess. 
Pocahontas was soon after taken to England by her husband, and was 
received there with great attention and kindness. She remained in Eng- 
land for a little more than a year, and then prepared to return to her 
own country. As she was about to sail, she died, at the age of twenty- 
two, A. 1). 1610, She left a son, mIio subsequently became a man of 
distinction in Virginia, and the ancestor of some of the proudest families 
of the Old Dominion. 

In the meantime tlie settlements of the Frencli on the coast of INIaine 
had attracted the attention and excited the jealousy of the English. In 
1613, Captain Samuel Argall, who was cruising on the banks of New- 
foundland to ]irotect the Englisii fisliermen, discovered the Frencli 
settlement of Saint Sauveur on the island of ISIount Desert, and captured 
it. He treated the colonists with inexcusable harshness, and compelled 
them to leave the country. In the same year he destroyed the fortifica- 
tions which Des Monts had erected on the isle of St. Croix and burned 
the deserted settlement of Port Royal. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA, 109 

At Jamestown and the other settlements that had been formed in 
* Virginia private industry was fast placing the colony on an assured basis 
of success. " The condition of private property in lands, among the 
colonists, depended, in some measure, on the circumstances under which 
they had emigrated. Some had been sent and maintained at the exclu- 
sive cost of the company, and were its servants. One month of their 
time and three acres of land were set apart for them, besides a small 
allowance of two bushels of corn from the public store ; the rest of their 
labor belonged to their employers. This number had gradually de- 
creased; and in 1617 there were of them all, men, women and children, 
but fifty-four. Others, especially the favorite settlement near the mouth 
of the Appomattox, were tenants, paying two and a half bushels of corn 
as a yearly tribute to the store, and giving to the public service one 
month's labor, which was to be required neitlier at seed time nor harvest. 
He who came himself, or had sent others at his own expense, had been 
entitled to a hundred acres of land for each person : now that the colony 
was well established, the bounty on emigration was fixed at fifty acres, 
of which the actual occupation and culture gave a further right to as 
many more, to be assigned at leisure. Besides this, lands were granted 
as rewards of merit ; yet not more than two thousand acres could be so 
appropriated to one person. A payment to the company's treasury of 
twelve pounds and ten shillings likewise obtained a title to any hundred 
acres of land not yet granted or possessed, with a reserved claim to as 
much more. Such were the earliest land laws of Virginia : though im- 
perfect and unequal, they gave the cultivator the means of becoming a 
proprietor of the soil. These valuable changes were established by Sir 
Thomas Dale." * 

The survivors of Raleigh's colony at Roanoke had introduced into 
England the use of tobacco which they had learned from the Indians, 
and there was now a steady demand for that article from the mother 
country. Encouraged by this demand, and stimulated by the acquisition 
of property of their own, the Virginia colonists devoted themselves with 
ardor to the culture of tobacco, and soon all the available land about the 
settlements, and even the streets and public squares of Jamestown, were 
planted M^th it. Tobacco soon became the currency of the colony, and 
so much attention was given to it, to the exclusion of other agricultural 
interests, that there was danger that not enough corn would be raised to 
supply the needs of the settlers. 

In 1616, Sir Thomas Dale, who had been governor of the colony for 
two years, delegated his authority to George Yeardley, and sailed for 

* History of the United States. By George Bancroft, vol. i, p. 150. 



no HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

England. Under Yeardley's admirable administration the colony con- 
tinued to increase in prosperity. A faction of the settlers, however, 
succeeded in removing him from his position, and replaced him with 
Argall, who was a selfish and brutal tyrant. He held office for two 
years, and governed according to the most rigid forms of martial law. 
He swindled the company, and extorted their hard earnings from the 
settlers, who were driven to desperation by his brutalities. In their 
distress they appealed to the company for redress, and, as Argall had 
robbed the corporation also, their prayer was heard. Argall was re- 
moved from office, and the bloody code of Sir Thomas Smith was 
abolished. Sir George Yeardley was appointed governor. Lord Delaware 
having died, and reached Jamestown in April, 1619. He was greatly 
beloved by the Virginians, and his arrival was looked upon as the begin- 
ning of new life for the province, as indeed it was. 

Among the changes which Yeardley was empowered by the company 
to inaugurate was one which exercised the greatest influence upon the 
subsequent history of Virginia. After years of blundering and arbitrary 
rule, the London Company had become convinced that the best way to 
promote the welfare of Virginia was to give the settlers a share in the 
management of their own affairs. " That the planters might have a 
hande in the governing of themselves, yt was graunted that a generall 
assemblie shoulde be helde yearly once, whereat were to be present the 
governor and consell with two burgesses from each plantation, freely to 
be elected by the inhabitantes thereof, this assemblie to have power to 
make and ordainc Avhatsoever lawes and orders shoulde by them be 
thought good and profitable for their subsistence." In accordance Avith 
this authorization, Governor Yeardley issued his writs for the election of 
representatives from the various colonies, and on the 10th day of July, 
1619, two delegates from each of the eleven settlements of the colony 
met at Jamestown, and organized the House of Burgesses of the Colony 
of Virginia, the first representative assembly ever convened in America. 
In this assembly the governor and council sat with the burgesses, 
and engaged in the debates and motions. John Pory, a member 
of the council and the secretary of the colony, was chosen speaker, 
althoujrh he was not a member of the house. Sensible of their 
dependence upon the Supreme Ruler of the world, the burgesses opened 
their deliberations with prayei', and thus established the practice. " The 
assembly exercised fully the right of judging of the proper election of 
its members ; and they M-ould not suffer any patent, conceding manorial 
jurisdiction, to bar the obligation of obedience to their decisions." Laws 
were enacted against idleness and vice, and for the encouragement of in- 



THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. HI 

dustry and order. He who refused to labor was to be " sold to a master 
for wages till he shewe apparent signs of amendment." The playing of 
dice and cards, and drunkenness and profane swearing were prohibited 
under severe penalties. Inducements were held out to increase the 
planting of corn, mulberry trees, hemp and the vine. The price of 
tobacco was fixed by law at three shillings a pound for the best grade 
and half that price for the inferior grade. Provision was also made for 
"the erecting of a university and college" for the proper education of 
the children who should be born to the planters. It was designed to 
extend to the Indians the benefit of these institutions, and it was ordered 
that the " most towardly (Indian) boys in wit and graces of nature should 
be brought up in the first elements of literature, and sent from college to 
the work of converting the natives to Christianity." 

The measures of the assembly were put in force without waiting the 
approval of the London Company, and the good effects of them were 
quickly visible in the colony. The principles of free government having 
been planted in the community, the settlers, who had been thereby trans- 
formed from the mere creatures of the governor into free-born English- 
men once more, began to regard Virginia as their permanent home, and 
set to work with a will to build houses and plant fields. One thing only 
was lacking to give the settlers homes in the truest sense of the word ; 
and to supply that need Sir Edwin Sandys induced ninety young and 
virtuous women to emigrate to America, that the colonists might be able 
to marry and form domestic ties which alone could permanently attach 
them to America. The young women were sent over to the colony in 
1619, at the expense of the company, and were married to the tenants 
of the corporation or to men who were well enough to do to support 
them. The next year sixty more -were sent over, and quickly found 
husbands. In all cases the husbands were required to repay to the 
company the cost of the passage of their wives from England. This was 
paid in tobacco, and was regarded as a debt of honor, to be discharged at 
any sacrifice. In order to aid the husbands in these payments, as well 
as in their general matters, the company, in employing labor, gave the 
preference to the married men. The colony now increased in a marked 
degree, emigrants coming out so rapidly from England that by 1621 
there were 4000 persons in Virginia. It having become understood that 
the colony had passed the stage at which failure was possible, and had 
become a permanent state, the new emigrants were largely men of family, 
who brought their households with them. 

In July, 1621, the London Company, which was now controlled by 
the patriot party in England, granted to Virginia a written constitution, 



112 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

which gave to the colony a form of government similar to that of Eng- 
land herself. A governor and permanent council were to be appointed 
by the company. The house of burgesses was to have the power of 
enacting such laws as should be needed for the general good, but no law 
so enacted was to be valid unless approved by the company. On the 
other hand, no orders of the court in London were to be binding in 
Virginia unless ratified by the house of burgesses. Courts of justice 
were established and ordered to be administered according to the laws 
and forms of trial in use in England. Thus the common law of England 
was firmly establislied in Virginia, and under its beneficent protection 
the colony advanced steadily in prosperity. The colonists were to be no 
longer merely the subjects of a commercial corporation, and as such to 
hold their liberties and property at the pleasure of their masters ; but 
were definitely accorded the right to govern themselves, and to take 
such measures for their safety and prosperity as in their judgment should 
seem best. " On this ordinance," says Bancroft, " Virginia erected the 
superstructure of her liberties. Its influences were wide and enduring, 
and can be traced through all her history. It constituted the plantatior^ 
in its infancy, a nursery of freemen ; and succeeding generations learned 
to cherish institutions which were as old as the first period of the ])ros- 
perity of their fathers. The privileges then conceded could never be 
wrested from the Virginians ; and as new colonies arose at the South 
their proprietaries could hope to win emigrants only by bestowing 
franchises as large as those enjoved by their elder rival. The London 
Company merits the praise of having auspicated liberty in America. 
It may be doubted whether any public act during the reign of King 
James was of more permanent or pervading influence ; and it reflects 
glory on Sir Edwin Sandys, the Earl of Southampton, and the patriot 
party of England, that, though they were unable to establish guarantees 
of a liberal administration at home, they were careful to connect popular 
freedom inseparably with tlie life, prosperity and state of society in 
Virginia." 




CHAPTER yil. 

PROGRESS OF THE VIRGINIA COLONY. 

Introduction of Negro Slavery into Virginia — Efforts of the Assembly to Kestrict Slavery 
— The Indians Attempt the Destruction of the Colony — Terrible Sufferings of the 
Whites — Aid from England — The Indian War Begun — King James Revokes the 
Charter of the London Company — Charles I. Desires a Monopoly of the Tobacco Tra^e 
— Action of the Assembly — Sir William Berkeley's First Administration — Severe 
Measures against Dissenters — Close of the Indian War — Death of Opechancanough — 
Emigration of Royalists to Virginia — Virginia and the Commonwealth — Treaty with 
England — The Assembly Asserts its Independence of the Governor — The Restoration — 
Berkeley Chosen Governor by the Assembly — His Hypocrisy. 

[N August, 1619, a few months after the meeting of the first colonial 
legislature, there occurred an event which was destined to influ- 
§f^ ence the history of Virginia and of America for remote genera- 

>'^ tions, perhaps forever. A Dutch vessel of war entered the 
James river and offered twenty negroes for sale as slaves. These were 
purchased by the planters, and negro slavery was thus established in 
Virginia. Laborers were in demand, and the necessity for them blinded 
the planters to the evil they were fastening upon the colony. The first 
importation was followed by others, the infamous business being princi- 
pally in the hands of the Dutch at this period. Still the blacks increased 
very slowly. The legislature from the first discouraged the traffic by a 
heavy tax upon female slaves. 

Sir Francis Wyatt, the first governor appointed under the new consti- 
tution, reached Virginia in 1621, and the new laws were soon in success- 
ful operation. Soon after his arrival a terrible misfortune befell the 
colony, and almost caused its destruction. For some time there had been 
bad blood between the whites and the Indians. PoAvhatan, the friend 
of the English, was dead, and Opechancanough, the veteran chief, who, 
since the death of Powhatan, had become the leader of the nation, was 
bitterly hostile to the English, and not without reason. The savages 
originally held the best lands in the colony, but the whites, when these 
lands were wanted, took possession of them without regard to the rights 
of their dusky owners. The Indians, unable to contend with the whites 
in open conflict, saw th^nselves driven steadily away from tlieir accus- 
8 113 



114 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tomed homes, and menaced with total destruction by the superior race. 
Opechancanough, though outwardly friendly to the colonists, now secretly 
resolved upon their destruction, and sought to accomplish this by 
treachery. There were about five thousand Indians, of whom fifteen 
hundred were warriors, within sixty miles of Jamestown, and the whites 
in the same region numbered in all about four thousand. These were 
scattered in fancied safety along both sides of the James and for some 
distance into the interior. A plot was organized by the Indian leader for 
the extermination of every settler in the colony. At noon on a designated 
day every settlement was to be surprised and all the inhabitants mur- 
dered. The savages in the meantime kept up their pretence of friendship. 
Opechancanough declared with fervor, " Sooner shall the sky fall than 
my friendship for the English should cease." So unsuspicious were the 
English that to the very last moment they received the savages amongst 
them without fear of harm, and in many places the latter were at the 
instant of tlic massacre in the houses of the people they meant to desti'^y. 

On the 22d of March, 1622, a general attack was made by the savag-'s 
upon all the settlements of the colony. On the previous night the plot 
had been revealed to a converted Indian, named Chauco, who at once 
hastened to Jamestow^n and gave warning of the danger. The alarm 
spread rapidly to the nearest settlements, but those at a distance could not 
be reached in time to avert their fate. Those settlements which had been 
warned were able to offer a successful resistance to their assailants, and 
some of those which were surprised beat off the Indians ; but the num- 
ber of victims, men, women, and children, who fell this day amounted to 
three hundred and forty-seven. All these were slain M^thin an hour, 
and their fate \vould have been shared by the whole colony but for the 
warning of the friendly Indian. 

The effect upon the colony was appalling. The distant plantations had 
been destroyed by the savages, and out of eighty settlements eight alone 
survived. These, and especially Jamestown, were crowded beyond their 
capacity with fugitives who had fled to them for shelter. Sickness soon 
began to prevail, tiie j)ublic works were discontinued, and private indus- 
try was greatly diminished. A gloom rested over the entire colony, and 
the population fell off. At the end of two years after the massacre, the 
number of inhabitants had been reduced to two thousand. Much sym- 
pathy was manifested for the suffering colonists by the people of England. 
The city of I^ondon sent them liberal assistance, and private individuals 
subscribed to their need. King James was aroused into an affectation of 
generous sympathy, and sent over to the colony a supply of miiskets 
which had been condemned as worthless in England. 



PROGRESS OF THE VIRGINIA COLONY. 115 

The whites recovered from their gloom, and on their part began to 
form plans for the extermination of their foes. During the next ten 
years expeditions were sent against the Indians at frequent intervals. The 
object kept sternly in view was to either destroy the savages altogether, 
or force them back from the seaboard into the interior. As late as 1630 
it was ordered by the general assembly that no peace should be made 
with the Indians. 

An important change now occurred in the fortunes of the colony. The 
London Company Avas bankrupt, and its stockholders having abandoned 
all hope of gain from the colony, held on to their shares merely as a 
means of exercising political power. The company was divided between 
two parties. One of these favored the direct rule of the colony by the 
sovereign, the other maintained the independent government of the 
province by its own legislature under the constitution granted to it. 
The debates between these factions greatly annoyed the T^ing, who could 
never tolerate the expression of an independent opinion by any of his 
subjects. He endeavored in various ways to silence these disputes, and 
to regain the powers he had relinquished to the company, but the latter 
firmly refused to surrender their charter, and the colonists, who feared 
that the king might seek to impose his own arbitrary will upon them in 
the place of their constitution and the laws of England, sustained the 
company in its refusal. In spite of this opposition, however, James 
carried his point. The charter of the company was revoked, and Vir- 
ginia was made a royal province. The company appealed to the courts, 
but these being under the influence of the crown sustained the king. 
Their decision was rendered in June, 1624. James did not interfere with 
any of the liberties or privileges of Virginia, however. Sir Francis 
Wyatt was retained in his office of governor, and the colony was left 
under the laws and in possession of the privileges secured to it in 1621. 
James announced his intention to prepare a code of laws for the govern- 
ment of Virginia, but fortunately for that province he died before he 
could execute his design. 

Charles I. succeeded his father on the English throne on the 27th of 
March, 1625. He was favorably disposed toward the colony, for he did 
not suppose the principles of civil liberty had taken so deep a root in it, 
and, moreover, he wished to secure for the crown the monopoly of the 
tobacco trade. He carried his condescension to the extent of recognizing 
the house of burgesses as a legislative body and requesting it to pass a 
bill restricting the sales of tobacco to the crown. The house answered 
him respectfully, but firmly, that to grant his majesty's request would be 
to injure the trade of tiie colony. Defeated in this effort to secure this 



116 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

monopoly the king continued throughout his reign to seek to get the 
tobacco trade into his hands. He declared London to be the sole market 
for the sale of tobacco, and endeavored in many ways, and in vain, to 
regulate the trade. 

In the meantima Sir Francis Wyatt retired from the government of 
the colony, and Sir George Yoardley was appointed his successor, in 
1626. The latter died the next year, and Francis West was elected 
governor by the council until the pleasure of the king should be known. 
Upon the receipt in England of the news of Yeardley's death, Charles 
appointed Sir John Harvey governor of Virginia. At the same time he 
granted to the council in Virginia authority to fill all vacancies occurring 
in their body. Previous to the arrival of Harvey, West was succeeded 
by another governor, nauied Pott, elected by the council. 

Harvey reached Virginia late in the autumn of 1629, and remained in 
office until 1639. He was greatly disliked, and his failure to enforce the 
claims of A^irginia against the colony of Maryland, which was planted 
in 1634 upon territory embraced within the original grant to Virginia, 
made him still more unpopular. In 1635 he was removed from office 
by the council, and an appeal was made to the king by both Harvey and 
the council. Harvey returned to England to manage his case, and John 
AVest was appointed governor until the decision of the case by the king. 
Harvey succeeded in defeating his opponents, who were not even allowed 
a hearing in England, and returned to Virginia in January, 1636, and 
resumed his place as governor. The complaints against him were so 
numerous, that in 1639 he was removed by the king, who appointed Sir 
Francis Wyatt his successor. In 1641 Wyatt was succeeded by Sir 
William Berkeley, who reached Jamestown in 1642. In the spring of 
this year, an effort was made to revive the London Company, but Vir- 
ginia, which was now a royal province, opposed the measure, and urged 
the king to allow her to remain in the exercise of the self-government 
■which had contributed in so marked a degree to her prosperity. The 
king, impressed with the force of the arguments by which this appeal 
was sustained, declared his intention to make no change in the colonial 
government. 

Berkeley, during his first administration, proved in the main a good 
governor, and the colony continued to improve. The courts of justice 
were brought as near as possible to the English standard, and the titles 
to lands were arranged upon a more satisfactory basis than liad hitherto 
been found possible. Taxes were assessed according to the wealth of the 
settlers, and a treaty was arranged with INIaryland by which the vexed 
questions between the two colonies were satisfactorily adjusted. The Vir- 



PP^OGRESS OF THE VIRGINIA COLONY. 117 

giniaus, accustomed to freedom, were in all things, save their acknowl- 
edgment of the king's supremacy, a practically independent nation, so 
little were they interfered with by the sovereign. The colony was de- 
voted to the established church of England, and even at this early day there 
were severe laws for the enforcement of conformity to its rules, and for 
the punishment of dissenters. When Puritan ministers came from New 
England into the colony in 1643, they were banished by the colonial 
government, notwithstanding they had been invited into Virginia by the 
Puritan settlements in that province. The majority of the Virginians, 
with the governor at their head, were royalists and staunch friends of the 
king. The Puritans living in the colony were regarded with suspicion, 
and when they refused to conform to the established church, it was ordered 
that they should be banished. Many of them passed over into Maryland 
and settled there. With the exception of this harmless bigotry, the 
colony took no share in the great quarrel which was rending the mother 
country in twain. It was rather a gainer by it, as the troubles Avhich 
encompassed Charles I. compelled him to cease his efforts to interfere witli 
the trade of the planters. 

The chief trouble of this period was with the Indians. There had 
been no peace with them since the massacre of 1622, but frequent expedi- 
tions had been sent against them. In 1644, the savages, led by their 
veteran chieftain Opechancanough, resolved to make one more effort to 
exterminate the whites, forgetting that in the twenty years that elapsed 
their enemies had grown stronger, while they had grown weaker. On 
the 18th of April the frontier settlements were attacked, and three 
hundred of the settlers were put to death. The whites at once inaugu- 
rated vigorous measures for their defence, and a sharp warfare was Avaged 
upon the savages until October, 1646. It was brought to a close by the 
capture of Opechancanough, who was so decrepit that he was unable to 
walk, and was carried about in the arms of his people. His flesh was 
emaciated, the sinews so relaxed, and his eyelids so heavy that whenever 
he desired to see they were lifted by his attendants. Yet still the vigor 
of his intellect remained to him, and he was to the last both feared by 
his enemies and loved by his people. Berkeley, having taken him prisoner, 
exposed him to the rude gaze of the colonists, an indignity which stung 
the proud monarch of the forest to the heart. On one occasion, hearing 
that the governor was approaching, he caused his eyelids to be raised, and 
fixing upon his captor a look of stern rebuke, said to him, "If Sir William 
Berkeley had become my prisoner, I should not thus meanly have exposed 
him as a show to my people." A few days later, Opechancanough was 
basely assassinated by one of the colonists charged with the duty of guard- 



118 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ing kim. Thus perished one of the greatest of the native chieftains of 
America. In October, 1646, Necotowance, the successor of Opechancan- 
ough entered into a treaty with the colony, by which he and his people 
relinquished to the English the lands that had been the heritage of their 
fathers, and withdrew into the interior. Their power was completely 
broken, and submission was all that was left to them. 

Virginia was now on the high road to prosperity. The population at 
the close of the year 1648 numbered twenty thousand, and was increasing 
rapidly. A fair trade had been built up with other countries, and at 
Christmas of this year "there were trading in Virginia ten ships from 
London, two from Bristol, twelve Hollanders, and seven from New 
England." The quarrels of the mother country had not affected the 
colony, though a thrill of horror and indignation ran through all Virginia 
when the news was received of the execution of Charles I. Upon the 
fall of that monarch a large number of the royalist party in England, 
unwilling to submit to or make any compromise Avith the Parliament, fled 
to Virginia, and were received there with sympathizing hospitality by the 
government and peojile. ]\Iany of them made the colony their perma- 
nent home, and thus began the pleasant relations between Virginia and 
England, which have in numerous cases remained unbroken. The Vir- 
ginians regarded Charles II., then an exile at Breda, as their rightful 
sovereign, and it was seriously proposed to him to come over to America 
and be king of Virginia. Charles' interests obliged him to remain in 
Europe, but he continued to regard himself as king of Virginia. From 
this circumstance Virginia came to be called " The Old Dominion." 

The Parliament, however, did not long suifer the colony to maintain 
this attitude. Having triumphed over all its enemies in Europe it 
prepared to enforce its authority in America. In 1650 an ordinance was 
passed forbidding all intercourse M'ith the colonies that had adhered to 
the Stuarts, except by the especial permission of Parliament or the Council 
of State. In the spring of 1652 more energetic measures were put in 
force, and a fleet was despatched to America to compel the submission of 
the colonies. The fleet arrived off Jamestown. No resistance was 
attempted, for the commissioners appointed by the commonwealth were 
instructed to grant terras honorable to both parties. The Virginians were 
prepared to resist any attempt to force them into submission, but they 
were disarmed by the liberal spirit Mith which the commonwealth met 
them, and a treaty was concluded between England and Virginia, as equal 
treating with equal. It was stipulated : 

" First. That this should be considered a voluntary act, not forced or 
constrained by a conquest upon the country ; and that the colony should 



PROGBESS OF THE VIRGINIA COLONY. 119 

have and enjoy such freedoms and privileges as belong to the freeborn 
people of England. 

"Secondly. That the grand assembly, as formerly, should convene 
and transact the aifairs of Virginia, doing nothing contrary to the govern- 
ment of the commonwealth or laws of England. 

"Thirdly. That there should be a full and total remission of all acts, 
words, or writings against the Parliament. 

" Fourthly. That Virginia should have her ancient bounds and limits, 
granted by the charters of the former kings, and that a new charter was 
to besought from Parliament to that effect, against such as had trespassed 
against their ancient rights. 

" Fifthly. That all patents of land under the seal of the colony, granted 
by the governor, should remain in full force. 

"Sixthly. That the privilege of fifty acres of land for every person 
emigrating to the colony should remain in full force. 

" Seventhly. That the people of Virginia have free trade, as the people 
of England enjoy, with all places and nations, according to the laws of 
the commonwealth ; and that Virginia should enjoy equal privileges, in 
every respect, with any other colony in America. 

" Eighthly. That Virginia should be free from all taxes, customs, and 
impositions whatsoever ; and that none should be imposed upon them 
without the consent of their grand assembly ; and no forts or castles be 
erected, or garrison maintained, without their consent. 

"Ninthly. That no charge should be required from the country on 
account of the expense incurred in the present fleet. 

"Tenthly. That this agreement should be tendered to all persons, and 
that such as should refuse to subscribe to it should have a year's time to 
remove themselves and effects from Virginia, and in the meantime enjoy 
equal justice." 

"These terms," says Bancroft, "so favorable to liberty, and almost 
conceding independence, were faithfully observed until the restoration. 
Historians have, indeed, drawn gloomy pictures of the discontent which 
pervaded the colony, and have represented the discontent as heightened 
by commercial oppression. The statement is a fiction. The colony of 
Virginia enjoyed liberties as large as the favored New England ; displayed 
an equal degree of fondness for popular sovereignty, and fearlessly 
exercised political independence." 

Richard Bennett, one of the commissioners, was chosen governor in the 
place of Berkeley. Until now it had been customary for the governor 
and council to sit in the assembly, and take part in the debates. Objec- 
tion was now made to their presence, and the matter was compromised by 
obliging them to take the oath required of the burgesses. During the 



120 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

protectorate Cromwell wisely let the colony alone. He appointed none 
of the governors, and never interfered with the management of its affairs. 
In 1658, Samuel Mathews being governor, the assembly, on the 1st of 
April, passed a law excluding the governor and council from their sessions, 
and thus secured to themselves a free and uninterrupted discussion of their 
measures. The governor and council in return declared tlie assembly 
dissolved, but that body vindicated its authority and independence by 
removing the governor and council, and compelled them to submit. They 
were then reelected to their respective positions. Thus did the spirit 
of popular liberty establish all its claims. 

Upon the death of Cromwell, the house of burgesses met in secret 
session and decided to recognize Richard Cromwell as protector. "It 
was a more interesting question whether the change of protector in Eng- 
land would endanger liberty in Virginia. The letter from the council 
had left the government to be administered according to former usage. 
The assembly declared itself satisfied with the language. But that there 
might be no reason to question the existing usage, the governor was 
summoned to come to the house, where he appeared in person, deliberately 
acknowledged the supreme power of electing officers to be, by the present 
laws, resident in the assembly, and pledged himself to join in addressing 
the new protector for special confirmation of all existing privileges. The 
reason for this extraordinary proceeding is assigned, 'that what was their 
privilege now, might be the privilege of their posterity.' The frame of 
the Virginia government was deemed worthy of being transmitted to 
remote generations." * 

Governor Mathews died in March, 1660, about the time of the resigna- 
tion of Richard Cromwell in England. Both the mother country and the 
colony were thus left without a government. In this emergency the 
general assembly of Virginia resolved "that the supreme government of 
this country shall be resident in the assembly, and all writs shall issue in 
its name, until there shall arrive from England a commission, which the 
assembly itself shall adjudge to be lawful." The assembly had no thought 
of asserting its independence of England, but as it cherished the earnest 
hope that the king would be restored to his rights, it proceeded to fill the 
vacancy occasioned by the death of Governor Mathews by electing Sir 
AVilliam Berkeley, the devoted partisan of the Stuarts, governor of Vir- 
ginia. Berkeley accepted the office, acknowledged the validity of the 
acts of the assembly, and expi*essed his conviction that he could in no 
event dissolve that body. "I am," said he, "but the servant of the 
assembly." We shall see in the course of this narrative how he regarded 
this promise in the light of subsequent events. 

* History of the United States. Bj' Geo. Bancroft, vol. i., p. 228. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

VIRGINIA AFTER THE RESTORATION. 

Characteristics of the Virginians — Causes of the Success of the Royalists — Growth of the 
Aristocratic Class — Berkeley decides against the People — The Aristocratic Assembly 
Claims the Right to sit Perpetually — Deprives the Common People of their Liberties — 
Revival of the Navigation Act by Charles II. — The King bestows Virginia as a Gift 
upon his Favorites — Protests of the Assembly — Growing Hostility of the Virginians to 
the Colonial Government — The Indian War — The Governor Refuses to allow the 
Colonists to Defend themselves — Nathaniel Bacon — He Marches against the Indians — 
Rebellion of the People against Berkeley and the Assembly — The Convention — Repeal 
.of the Obnoxious Laws — Berkeley's Duplicity — The People take up Arms — Flight of 
Berkeley — Destruction of Jamestown — Deatli of Bacon — Causes of the Failure of the 
Rebellion — Berkeley's Triumph — Execution of the Patriot Leaders — Berkeley's Course 
Condemned by the King — Death of Berkeley — The Unjust Laws Re-enacted — Lord 
Culpepper Governor — His Extortions — James II. and Virginia — Effects upon Virginia 
of the Revolution of 1688 — William and Mary College Founded. 

X the 8th of May, 1660, Charles II. was proclaimed king in 
England, and on the 29th made his entry into London. The 
rebellion and the commonwealth had produced but little eJEfect 
upon Virginia. The restoration was productive of the most 
momentous consequences in the colony. During the long period 
of the commonwealth Virginia had been practically independent. The 
people had acquired political rights, and had exercised them with 
prudence. The colony had prospered in a marked degree under the 
blessings of popular government, and the rights of the people Avere 
jealously guarded by their legislators. " No trace of established privi- 
lege appeared in its code or its government: in its forms and in its 
legislation Virginia was a representative democracy ; so jealous of a 
landed aristocracy that it insisted on universality of suffrage ; so hostile 
to the influence of commercial wealth, that it would not tolerate the 
* mercenary ' ministers of the law ; so considerate for religious freedom, 
that each parish was left to take care of itself. Every officer was, 
directly or indirectly, chosen by the people." * The restoration was to 
change all this. 

* Bancroft's History of the United Slates, vol. ii., p. 188. 

121 




122 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The society of Virginia was peculiar. The colony had been settled 
by adventurers under circumstances which compelled equality among all 
classes of its people. Thus there had grown up a strong population born 
to the enjoyment of this equality, and devoted to its maintenance. They 
constituted the bulk of the inhabitants. By degrees there had sprung 
up a colonial aristocracy composed of the large landholders. These were 
persons of culture, many of whom had been men of position and educa- 
tion in England. The laws favored the accumulation of large estates, 
and the possession of them awakened feelings of family pride. The 
large emigration of men of rank and culture at the overthrow of Charles 
I. greatly increased this class. The existence of an established church 
gave it another element of strength, since the interests of the state church 
and the aristocracy are always identical. Education was almost entirely 
confined to the landholding class, and with this never-failing weapon in 
their grasp they soon obtained the direction of the affairs of the colony, 
and retained it. Unfortunately for Virginia, the mass of the people had 
no means of acquiring knowledge. There were no common schools in 
the colony. In 1671, Sir William Berkeley wrote: "Every man 
instructs his children according to his ability." He added : " I thank 
God there arc no free schools nor printing, and I hope we shall not have 
these hundred years ; for learning has brought disobedience and heresy 
and sects into the world, and printing has divulged them and libels 
against the best government. God keep us from both ! " Thus were the 
common peoi)le doomed to hopeless ignorance, and left helpless and at 
the mercy of the smaller but educated class. There was no printing press 
in Virginia, and the colony remained without one until nearly a century 
after New England had enjoyed its benefits. Bitterly did the people of 
Virginia atone for their neglect of their best interests. They had shown 
at the first the power of creating free institutions ; but these institutions 
cannot be preserved among an ignorant people. Freedom and intelli- 
gence go hand in hand. The institution of negro slavery was another 
element of weakness and degradation. Labor was debased in the eyes 
of the whites by being made the task of a slave, when it should have 
been the glory of a freeman. The institution served to confirm the 
power of the landed aristocracy, wliile it sank the common people deeper 
into ignorance. 

Thus when Sir William Berkeley entered upon his second term of 
office, at the period of the restoration, there were two elements, by nature 
hostile to each other, contending for the control of the colony — a people 
eager' for the enjoyment of popular liberty, but sinking deeper into 
ignorance and helplessness, and a rising aristocracy, composed of men of 



VIRGINIA AFTER THE RESTORATION. 



123 



wealth and education, and united by a common interest. Unhappily for 
the people, the governor was a natural aristocrat. In spite of his profes- 
sions of loyalty to the assembly, he regarded the people with contempt, 
and could never tolerate the exercise of the least of their rights. 

In the midst of the rejoicings in Virginia which hailed the return of 
Charles II. to the throne of his fathers, Berkeley took a decisive stand, 
and boldly declared that he was governor of Virginia, not by the election 
of the assembly, but by virtue of his commission from the king. At the 




DESTRUCTION OF THE VLRGINIA SETTLEMENTS BY THE INDIANS. 

same time he issued writs for the election of a new assembly in the name 
of King Charles. Popular sovereignty was struck dead in Virginia. 
The new assembly met in March, 1661. It was composed exclusively of 
landholders. Until now the assembly had been elected for but a single 
year, and its members were chosen by the people. This first aristocratic 
assembly, true to its instincts, at a blow deprived the people of the right 
of choosing their representatives, by assuming to itself the power to sit 
perpetually. Sustained by the governor, the burgesses were enabled to 



124 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

continue their usurpation for fourteen years, and only yielded to an 
insurrection. The salaries of the members were paid by their respective 
counties, and the house, in 1662, passed a law regulating the pay and 
allowances of its members. The compensation was fixed at two hundred 
and fifty pounds of tobacco per day, or about nine dollars — a rate deemed 
enormous in these days of abundant wealth, and utterly unsuited to the 
period of poverty and struggle we are considering. In order to perpetu- 
ate its power, the assembly repealed the laws giving the right of suffrage 
to every citizen, and confined it to freeholders and housekeepers. 

Kor did the assembly neglect to provide for the church. Conformity 
was required by severe laws. Every inhabitant of the colony was com- 
pelled to attend its services and to contribute a fixed sum to its support. 
The assessment of parish taxes was intrusted to twelve vestrymen in 
each parish, who had power to fill all vacancies in their number. They 
thus became practically a close corporation, responsible to no one for 
their acts. Rigorous laws were directed against the Quakers. They 
were forbidden to hold their own religious assemblies, and their absence 
from church was punished by a heavy fine. In September, 1663, the 
house expelled one of its members " because he was well affected to the 
Quakers." 

"The organization of the judiciary placed that department of the 
government almost beyond the control of the people. The governor and 
council were the highest ordinary tribunal, and these were all appointed, 
directly or indirectly, by the crown. Besides this, there were in each 
county eight unpaid justices of the peace, commissioned by the governor, 
during his pleasure. These justices held monthly courts in their 
respective counties. Thus the administration of justice in the counties 
was in the hands of persons holding their offices at the good will of the 
governor ; while the governor himself and his executive council consti- 
tuted the general court, and had cognizance of all sorts of causes. Was 
an appeal made to chancery, it was but for another hearing before the 
same men ; and it Avas only for a few years longer that appeals were 
permitted from the general court to the assembly. The place of sheriff 
in each county was conferred on one of the justices for tliat county, and 

so devolved to every commissioner in course But the county 

courts, thus independent of the people, possessed and exercised the arbi- 
trary power of levying county taxes, which, in their amount, usually 
exceeded the public levy. This system proceeded so far that the com- 
missioners, of themselves, levied taxes to meet their own expenses. In 
like manner, the self-perpetuating vestries made out their lists of tith- 
ables, and assessed taxes without regard to the consent of the parish. 



VIRGINIA AFTER THE RESTORATION. 125 

These private levies were unequal and oppressive, were seldom — it is 
said, never — brought to audit, and were, in some cases at least, managed 
by men who combined to defraud the public." * 

These were the effects upon Virginia of the restoration of Charles II. 
to the throne of England. The guarantee which a frequent renewal of 
the assembly secured to the rights of the people was removed by the 
perpetuation of that body. The right of suffrage — the sole protection of 
the liberties of a free people — was taken from a majority of the inhab- 
itants of the province. Religious liberty, which it was fondly believed 
had been established, was struck down at a single blow. A system of 
arbitrary taxation by irresponsible magistrates was set up in the place of 
the carefully-scrutinized levies of the representatives of the people. 
Education was discouraged and the press regarded with hostility. Ignor- 
ance, with all its accompanying evils, was fastened upon the colony. Ten 
years sufficed to accomplish these changes ; but it took more than a century 
for the people of Virginia to recover their lost rights. 

Charles II. remembered the loyalty of Virginia only in his adversity. 
One of his first acts was to revive in a more odious form the navigation 
act, which had originated in the Long Parliament as a measure for com- 
pelling the submission of the colonies to the authority of the common- 
wealth. In 1660, a new and enlarged navigation act was passed by 
Parliament. It forbade foreign vessels to trade with the colonies, and 
required colonists to ship certain " enumerated articles, such as sugar, 
tobacco, cotton, wool, ginger, or dyewoods " produced in the colony to 
England alone. This act bore very hard upon Virginia, as it gave to 
the English merchants the monopoly of her tobacco trade. The mer- 
chants were thus enabled to regulate the price of the commodity, and to 
supply the wants of the colonists in return upon their own terms. 
Efforts were made to evade this iniquitous law, but it remained fastened 
upon the colonies, and was the first of a long series of outrages by which 
Great Britain broke the ties which bound the people of America to her. 

Charles was not satisfied with crippling the industry of the colony that 
had remained faithful to him in his adversity. In order to please his 
worthless favorites at home he consented to plunder the Virginians of 
their property. In 1649, a patent was granted to a company of cavaliers 
for the region lying between the Rappahannock and the Potomac, and 
known in Virginia as the Northern Neck. It was intended to make this 
region a refuge for their partisans, but the design was never carried out. 
Other settlers located themselves there, and in 1669 it contained a 
number of thriving plantations. In the latter year Lord Culpepper, one 

* History of the United States. By George Bancroft, vol. ii., pp. 204-205. 



126 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of the most avaricious men in England, obtained from the king a patent 
for the Northern Neck, having previously acquired all the shares of the 
company to whom the grant of 1649 had been made. This patent was 
in direct violation of the rights of the actual settlers, and bore very hard 
upon them. But it was as nothing compared with the next gift of the 
king. In 1673, he bestowed, as a free gift, upon Lord Culpepper and 
the Earl of Arlington, " all the dominion of land and water, called Vir- 
ginia," for a term of thirty-one years. 

Even the aristocratic a&sembly was startled by this summary disposal 
of the colony and commissioners were sent to England to remonstrate with 
the king. " We are unwilling," the assembly declared, " and conceive 
that we ought not to submit to those to whom his majesty, upon misin- 
formation, hath granted the dominion over us, who do most contentedly 
pay to his majesty more than M'e have ourselves for our labor. Whilst 
we labor for the advantage of the crown, and do wish we could be more 
advantageous to the king and nation, we humbly request not to be sub- 
jected to our fellow-subjects, but, for the future, to be secured from our 
fears of being enslaved." The commissioners were granted no satisfac- 
tion in England, and the efforts of the colony to obtain justice at the 
hands of the king failed. 

Virginia at this time was a sparsely. settled province. Jamestown was 
the only town deserving the name within the limits of the colony. The 
inhabitants were scattered over the country, separated from each other. 
They dwelt on their farms and plantations, coming together rarely except 
on Sundays, on court-days, and at elections. This solitary life taught 
them independence and self-reliance. They were proud of their personal 
liberty, and so long as this was not taken from them they were willing to 
submit to almost any form of government that might be imposed upon 
them. The truth is that until tlic restoration the Virginians Avere not 
accustomed to being governed much. The measures of the royalist gov- 
ernor and assembly greatly curtailed the freedom which the people had 
enjoyed under their former governments, and the imposition of new bur- 
dens upon them aroused a general discontent. Men began to come 
together to discuss their wrongs, and the hostility to the aristocratic party 
and the governor increased rapidly, so rapidly, indeed, that the people 
were ripe for insurrection in 1674, and would have risen in revolt luul 
not some of the cooler lieads induced them to try more peaceful measures 
of redress. Still the taxes were continued at such a rate that the col- 
onists were driven to desperation. They complained, with justice, that 
they were deprived of all the fruits of their labors by the iniquitous 
levies made upon them, and their complaints, instead of producing a 



VIRGINIA AFTER THE RESTORATION. 127 

change for the better, merely brought an increase of their burdens. At 
length their patience was exhausted, and they only lacked an excuse for 
taking up arms. The opportunity soon came. In the meantime the 
governor and the assembly, with characteristic contempt for the commons, 
went on extorting money from the people by unjust taxes princijjally for 
their own benefit, and put in successive operation the measures we have 
already described for strengthening their own power, and reducing the 
people to subjection to them. 

The people of Maryland had become involved in a war with the Sus- 
quehannah Indians and their confederates, and the struggle was so serious 
that the savages extended their depredations to the Potomac, and even to 
the limits of Virginia. To guard against this danger the border militia 
were set to watch the line of the river, and in 1675 a body of them, under 
Colonel John Washington, crossed over into Maryland to help the people 
of that colony. This John Washington had emigrated from the north 
of England about eighteen years before, and had settled in Westmore- 
land county. He became the great-grandfather of George Washington, 
The war Avas conducted with great fury on both sides. Six of the chiefs 
of the Susquehannah tribe at length came into the camj) of the Vir- 
ginians to treat for peace, and were treacherously murdered. This bar- 
barous act aroused the indignation of Governor Berkeley. " If they had 
killed my father and my mother, and all ray friends," said he, " yet if 
they had come to treat of peace, they ought to have gone in peace." The 
massacre was bloodily avenged by the Indians. The Susquehannahs im- 
mediately crossed the Potomac and waged a relentless warfare along the 
borders of Virginia until they had slain ten whites for each one of their 
chiefs, a sacrifice required of them by the customs of their tribe, in 
order that the spirits of their braves might rest in peace. The people 
appealed to the governor for protection, but Berkeley refused to grant 
them aid. It is said that he was too deeply interested in the fur trade to 
be willing to oifend the Indians by aiding his people. The colonists then 
demanded permission to defend themselves, to invade the Indian country, 
and drive the savages farther into the interior. This was also refused, 
and during all this time the frontier was suffering fearfully from the 
outrages of Berkeley's Indian friends. 

At last the patience of the people was exhausted. A leader was at 
hand in the person of Nathaniel Bacon. He was a young planter of the 
county of Henrico, a native of England, and a lawyer by profession. He 
was ardent in temper, eloquent and persuasive in speech, winning in 
manner, a true patriot, and possessed of the firmness and decision neces- 
sary in a leader of a popular movement. He had been reared in Eng- 



128 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

land amid the struggles which ushered in the establishment of the 
commonwealth, and had learned the lesson of freedom too well to forget 
it in a home where every incident of his daily life required the exercise 
of the best qualities of his nature. His love of republicanism had 
gained him the dislike of Governor Berkeley, who hated any man that 
dared to criticise his tyranny. The same principles which made him 
obnoxious to the governor Mon him the aiFectionate confidence of the 
people of Virginia, who were quick to recognize their true friend. When 
volunteers began 'to offer themselves for the war against the Indians they 
petitioned the governor to commission Bacon their commander-in-chief. 
This Berkeley refused, declaring that he would not countenance such pre- 
sumption on the part of the " common people." In the meantime the 
murders continued, and Bacon, who shared the indignation of the people, 
determined that if another man was slain he would march the militia 
against the Indians without a commission. Almost immediately several 
of his own men were murdered on his own plantation near the falls of 
the James. He at once gave the signal. Five hundred men were soon 
under arms, and Bacon was made their leader. About the 20th of April, 
1676, he set out on his march against the savages, whom he chastised and 
drove back into the interior. 

The people were in arms, and they were not disposed to lay down their 
weapons until their grievances were redressed. The quarrel was not with 
the Indians, but with the government. As soon as Bacon had begun his 
march into the Indian country, Berkeley denounced him as a traitor, and 
his followers as rebels, and ordered them to disperse. He was obeyed by 
some who feared the loss of their property, but the populous counties bor- 
dering the bay answered him by joining the insurrection. The people of 
the colony with one voice demanded the dissolution of the assembly, which 
had unlawfully maintained its existence for fourteen years. Opposed 
by the entire people the governor was compelled to yield. The assembly 
had fairly earned the universal hatred with which it was regarded by its 
selfishness and its hostility to popular liberty. It Avas dissolved, and 
writs were issued for a new election. Among the new members elected 
was Bacon, who was returned from the county of Henrico. 

The new assembly was naturally favorable to the rights of the people, 
and it at once proceeded to rectify many of the abuses Avhich had pro- 
duced the insurrection. Taxes were adjusted more equitably ; the riglit 
of suffrage was restored to the people ; the monopoly of the Indian trade, 
in which it was believed the governor was deeply interested, was sus- 
pended ; many of the evils connected with the expenditure of the public 
funds were corrected ; the power of the parish vestries was broken by 



VIRGINIA AFTER THE RESTORATION. 129 

limiting their term of office to three years, and giving the election of 
these officials to the freemen of the parish ; a general amnesty was pro- 
claimed for all past oifences; and Bacon, amid the rejoicings of the 
people, was elected commander of the array destined to act against the 
Indians. 

These measures were utterly distasteful to the haughty old governor. 
He refused to give them his sanction, or to sign the commission ordered 
for Bacon by the assembly. Fearful of treachery Bacon withdrew from 
the capital. The people quickly rallied to his support, and in a few days 
he entered Jamestown at the head of five hundi-ed men. Berkeley, who 
was as courageous as he was obstinate, met him, and baring his breast 
said, haughtily, "A fair mark ; shoot ! '' Bacon answered him calmly, 
" I will not hurt a hair of your head, or of any man's ; we are come for 
the commission to save our lives from the Indians." The governor was 
at length obliged to yield. The commission was issued, the acts of the 
assembly were ratified, and Berkeley joined the assembly and council in 
sending to England an indorsement of the loyalty, patriotism, and energy 
of Bacon. This ^consent was given on the 24th of June, or, according to 
the new style of calculation, at present in use, on the 4th of July, 1676, 
just one hundred years before the Declaration of Independence. 

Bacon at once marched against the Indians, and in a brilliant and suc- 
cessful campaign broke their power, and gave peace and security to the 
frontier. In the midst of these honorable labors he was again assailed 
by Berkeley, who had only consented to the reconciliation to gain time. 
The governor withdrew from Jamestown to Gloucester, which was the 
most populous and the most loyal county of Virginia. He summoned a 
convention of the inhabitants, and renewed his effi)rts against Bacon. 
The people of Gloucester, justly regarding Bacon as the defender of the 
colony, opposed the governor's proposals, but he persisted in spite of their 
advice, and again proclaimed Bacon a traitor. 

This inexcusable pursuit of a man who had rendered nothing but good 
service to the colony aroused the indignation of the troops. " It vexes 
me to the heart," said Bacon, " that while I am hunting the wolves and 
tigers that destroy our lambs I should myself be pursued as a savage. 
Shall persons wholly devoted to their king and country — men hazarding 
their lives against the public enemy — deserve the appellation of rebels 
and traitors ? The whole country is witness to our peaceable behavior. 
But those in authority, how have they obtained their estates ? Have they 
not devoured the common treasury? What arts, what sciences, what 
schools of learning, have they promoted? I appeal to the king and 
Parliament, where the cause of the people will be heard impartially." 
9 



130 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Bacon appealed to the people of Virginia to unite for the defence of 
their liberties against the tyranny of the governor. They responded to 
this call with enthusiasm, and a convention of the most eminent men in 
the colony assembled at Middle Plantations, now Williamsburg, on the 
3d of August, 1676. It was resolved by the convention to sustain Bacon 
with the whole power of the colony in the campaign against the Indians. 
If the governor persisted in his attempt to hunt him as a traitor, the 
members of the convention pledged themselves to defend Bacon with 
arms, even against the royal troops, until an appeal could be made to the 



*:M5*;f 




KnXED CIIL 



WER ON THE SITE OF JAMESTOWN. 



king in person. The people of Virginia were fully resolved to protect 
themselves against the tyranny of Berkeley, and Bacon, strengthened by 
their indorsement of his course, finished his campaign against the In- 
dians. Governor Berkeley withdrew across the bay to the eastern shore, 
and there collected a force of sailors belonging to some English vessels 
and a band of worthless Indians. With this force, " men of a base and 
cowardly disposition, allured by the passion for plunder," he prei)ared to 
return to Jamestown. 

The people decided to regard the retreat of the governor as an abdi- 



VIRGINIA AFTER THE RESTORATION. 131 

cation on his part of his office. The ten years for which he had been 
appointed had expired, and the colonial records afforded a precedent for 
his removal. Bacon and four others, who had been members of the 
council, issued writs for the election of a representative convention to 
which the management of the affairs of the cohmy was to be committed. 
With the exception of a few royalists the whole people of Virginia 
indorsed the movement ; the women were enthusiastic, and urged their 
husbands to risk everything, even life, in defence of their liberties. 

Early in September Sir William Berkeley reached Jamestown with the 
rabble which he called his army. He took possession of the town with- 
out resistance, and was joined by a number of royalists. He offered 
freedom to the slaves of the Virginians who were opposed to him on the 
condition of their joining his ranks. Bacon and his party were again 
proclaimed traitors and rebels. 

The people at once flew to arms, and Bacon soon found himself at the 
head of the little array that had been so successful against the Indians. 
Without delay they marched to Jamestown. The resistance attempted 
by Berkeley's cowardly followers was feeble, and the whole force, includ- 
ing their leader, retreated to their ships, and dropped down the river by 
night. The next morning the army of the people entered Jamestown. 
It was rumored that a party of royalists was marching from the northern 
counties to the support of Berkeley, and a council was held to decide 
upon the fate of the capital. It was agreed that it should be burned to 
prevent it from being used as a stronghold for their enemies. The torch 
was applied ; Drummond and Lawrence, leaders of the popular party, set 
fire to their dwellings with their own hands ; and in a few hours only a 
heap of smouldering ruins marked the site of the first capital of Virginia. 
Its destruction left the colony without a single town within its limits. 

From the ruins of Jamestown Bacon marched promptly to meet the 
royalist force advancing from the Rappahannock region. The latter in a 
body joined the army of the people, and even the county of Gloucester, 
the stronghold of royalty, gave its adhesion to the patriotic movement. 
With the exception of the eastern shore the entire colony was united in 
support of the cause of popular liberty. Unhappily, at this critical junc- 
ture. Bacon was seized with a fatal fever, of which he died on the 1st of 
October, 1676. His followers grieved for him with passionate sorrow, 
and with good cause. It has been the good fortune of Virginia to give 
many great names to the cause of liberty, but in all the immortal roll 
there are none who surpassed Nathaniel Bacon in pure and disinterested 
patriotism. Others were permitted to accomplish more, but none cherished 
loftier aims or desired more earnestly the good of their fellow-citizens. 



132 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The death of Bacon left the popular party without a head ; and now 
began to be seen for the first time in Virginia the evils which the neglect 
of education must produce in a community. The Virginians were not 
lacking in courage, determination, or devotion to their liberties, and their 
cause was one calculated to succeed without leaders. In an educated 
community there would have been no lack of union or perseverance 
because of the death of one man, and the people would have found tlie 
means to continue their struggle until successful. In the uneducated 
Virginian community of 1676 the presence of a bold, capable, and reso- 
lute leader was a necessity, and his sudden removal left the popular party 
helpless. The grand struggle degenerated into a series of petty insur- 
rections; the royalists took heart, and Robert Beverley, their most 
competent leader, was able to destroy in detail the resistance of the 
patriots and to restore the supremacy of Berkeley. 

The governor now proceeded to take a summary vengeance upon the 
patriots, and more than twenty of the best men of the colony gave their 
lives on the scaffold for the liberties of their country. The first of these 
martyrs for freedom — the "first American to die for the right of the 
people to govern themselves — was Thomas Hansford, a Virginian born, 
and a noble specimen of the chivalrous sons of the Old Dominion. The 
wife of Edmund Cheesman, upon the capture of her husband, flung her- 
self at the governor's feet, and declaring that her exhortations had 
induced her husband to join Bacon, begged to be allowed to die in his 
place. The brutal Berkeley repelled the heroic woman with a gross 
insult. When Drummond was taken and brought before him the gov- 
ernor received him with mock courtesy. " I am more glad to see you," 
he said, " than any man in Virginia ; you shall be hanged in half an 
hour." The royalist assembly, horrified at the cruelty of the governor, 
appealed to him to " spill no more blood." The property of the victims 
was confiscated, and their helpless families were turned out upon the 
charities of the people for whom the martyrs had died. Not content 
with these cruelties Berkeley attempted to silence the people, and prevent 
them from either censuring him or vindicating the memory of their dead 
heroes. Whoever should speak ill of Berkeley or his friends was to be 
whipped. 

At last the end came, and Berkeley returned to England. His de- 
parture was celebrated with rejoicings throughout the colony ; bells were 
rung, guns were fired, and bonfires blazed. Berkeley ho])ed to be able to 
justify his conduct in England, but upon his arrival in that country he 
f(iund his course sternly condemned by the voice of public opinion. 
Evep Charles II. censured him with all the energy that soulless monarch 



VIRGINIA AFTER THE RESTORATION. 133 

was master of. " The old fool," said the king, " has taken away more 
lives in that naked laud than I for the murder of my father." His dis- 
appointment and mortification were too much for the proud man, and he 
died soon after his arrival in England. 

The failure of Bacon's rebellion brought many serious misfortunes to 
Virginia. The insurrection was made the excuse by the king for refusing 
'a liberal charter, and the colony was made dependent for its rights and 
privileges entirely upon the royal will. The assembly was composed 
almost exclusively of royalists, and at once proceeded to undo the work 
of the popular party. All the laws of Bacon's assembly were repealed ; 
the right of suffrage was restricted to freeholders, and the iniquitous 
taxes were reimposed. All the abuses that had led to the rebellion were 
revived. 

In 1677 Lord Culpepper, one of the favorites to whom Charles II. 
had granted Virginia, was appointed governor of the colony for life. 
The new governor regarded his office as a sinecure, and while receiving 
its emoluments desired to remain in England to enjoy them. In 1680, 
however, the king compelled him to repair to his government in person. 
He brought with him authority from the sovereign to settle all past 
grievances, but he used this power for his own profit. He extorted 
money from all parties, and when he had acquired a considerable sum 
returned to England, having spent less than a year in Virginia. He left 
the colony in the greatest distress. The Virginians, robbed of the profits 
of their labors for the enrichment of their rulers, were reduced to despair. 
Riots took place in various placesj and the whole colony was on the verge 
of insurrection. 

Rumors of these disturbances having reached England the king 
ordered Culpepper to return and reduce the colony to obedience. He did 
so, and caused several influential men to be hanged as traitors, and used 
the power intrusted to him to wrest from the council the last remnant of 
its authority to control his outrages upon the people. This accomplished 
he proceeded to force the settlers of the Northern Neck to surrender their 
plantations to him, or pay him the sums he demanded for the privilege of 
retaining them. He found his residence among a people he had come to 
plunder very disagreeable, and in the course of a few months returned to 
England amid the bitter curses of the Virginians. The council reported 
the distress of the province to the king, and appealed to him to recall the 
grant to Culpepper and Arlington. Arlington surrendered his rights to 
Culpepper, whose patent was rendered void by a process of law, and in 
July, 1684, Virginia became once more a royal province. Lord Howard, 
of Effingham, was appointed to succeed Culpepper, but he was a poorer 



134 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and more grasping man than his predecessor, and the change afforded no 
relief to Virginia. 

In 1685 James II. came to the throne of England, and in the same 
year occurred the insurrection in England known as Monmouth's rebel- 
lion. A number of prisoners were taken in this struggle by the royal 
forces, and many of these were sent out to the colonies of Virginia and 
Maryland to be sold as servants for a term of ten years. Many of them 
were men of education and family. The general assembly of Virginia 
refused to sanction this infamous measure, and, in spite of the prohibition 
of King James, passed a law declaring all such persons free. Indeed at 
this time the practice of selling white servants in America had become 
so profitable that quite a thriving business was carried on between the 
west of England and Virginia and Maryland. Xot only persons con- 
demned for crime, but innocent people were kidnapped and sold in the 
colonies for a term of years for money. "At Bristol," says Bancroft, 
"the mayor and justices would intimidate small rogues and pilferers, who, 
under the terror of being hanged, prayed for transportation as the only 
avenue to safety, and were then divided among the members of the court. 
The trade "was exceedingly profitable — far more so than the slave-trade — 
and liad been conducted for years." 

One of the last acts of Charles II. with reference to Virjjinia was to 
forbid the setting up of a printing press within the limits of the colony. 
James II. continued this prohibition. Effingham endeavored to taUe 
from the colony the few privileges left to it. The result was that the 
party of freedom increased rapidly. ]\Iany of the aristocratic party see- 
ing that the king and the governor menaced every right and privilege 
they possessed went over to the popular side. The assembly began to 
assert the popular demand for self-government, and became so unman- 
ageable that in November, 1686, it was dissolved by royal proclamation. 
A new assembly was convened, which met in April, 1688, a few months 
before the British revolution. The governor and council found this body 
more indisposed to submit to the aggressions of the crown than its pre- 
decessor had been. The people sustained their delegates, and a new 
insurrection was threatened. Effingham was in the midst of a hostile 
population, without troops to enforce his will, and was obliged to conduct 
himself with moderation. The royal authority was never stronger in 
Virginia than during this reign, but it was found impossible to estaljlish 
it upon the ruins of the lil)erties of the colony. The result of all the 
long years of oppression we have l)een considering was simply to confirm 
the Virginians in their attachment to their liberties, and in their deter- 
mination to maintain them at any cost. Virginia remained to the end an 
aristocratic colony, but it was none the less " a land of liberty." 



VIRGINIA AFTER THE RESTORATION. 135 

The revolution of 1688 in England did not change affairs in Virginia 
materially as regarded the forms of the colonial government. The lib- 
erties of the colony were established by law too securely to be any longer 
at the mercy of an individual, but the power of the governor was still 
very o-reat. Every department of the colonial administration, the 
finances, and even the management of the church, was made subject to 
his control. He had the power to dissolve the assembly at pleasure, and 
was sure to exercise it if that body manifested too great a spirit of inde- 
pendence. He also appointed the clerk of the assembly, who was for 
this reason a check upon its freedom of debate. The only means of 
resistance to the measures of the government which the assembly retained 
was to refuse to vote supplies in excess of the permanent revenue. This 
right was sometimes exercised, and the governor was prevented from 
carrying out unpopular measures by the lack of the necessary funds. 

Soon after the accession of William and Mary to the throne an effort 
was made to establish a college in Virginia, although the printing press 
was still forbidden. Donations were made by a number of persons in 
England, and the king bestowed several liberal grants upon the proposed 
institution. The measure was carried through to success by the energy 
of the Rev. James Blair, who was sent out by the Bishop of London as 
commissary, " to supply the office and jurisdiction of the bishop in the 
outplaces of the diocese." The college was established in 1691, and was 
named William and Mary, in honor of the king and queen. Mr. Blair 
was its first president, and held that office for fifty years. 

The ministry did not approve the action of the king in granting even 
the very moderate endowments which he bestowed upon the college. 
They regarded Virginia merely as a place in which to raise tobacco for 
the English market, and cared nothing for the interests of the people. 
They treated the colony with injustice and neglect in everything. The 
planters could sell their tobacco only to an English purchaser, who regu- 
lated the price to suit himself, and supplied the planters in return with 
the wares they needed at his own prices. 




CHAPTER IX. 

THE COLONIZATION OF MARYLAND. 

Extent of the Territory of Virginia— Clayborne's Trading Posts established— Sir George 
Calvert, Lord Baltimore — Becomes interested in American Colonization — Obtains a 
Grant of Maryland — Terms of the Charter — A Colony sent out— Arrival in the Chesa- 
peake — St. Mary's Founded — Character of the Colony — Friendly Relations established 
with the Indians — First Legislature of Maryland — Trouble with Clayborne — Eapid 
Growth of the Colony — Progress of Popular Liberty — Policy respecting the Treatment 
of the Indians — Clayborne's Rebellion — Law granting Religious Toleration enacted — 
Condition of Maryland under the Commonwealth — The People declared Supreme — 
Lord Baltimore recovers his Proprietary Rights — Characteristics of the Colony — Rapid 
Increase in Population — Charles Calvert, Governor — Death of the second Lord Balti- 
more — Roman Catholics disfranchised — Maryland becomes a Royal Province — Triumph 
of the Protestants — Annapolis made the Seat of Government — Restoration of the Pro- 
prietary Government — Continued Prosperity of Maryland. 

HE second charter of Virginia granted to that province the 
country north of the Potomac as far as the headwaters of the 
Chesapeake bay. This grant included the territory of the pres- 
ent State of Maryland. The discoveries of Captain John Smith 
had brought the region along the head of the bay into notice, and 
other explorers had confirmed his statements as to its value. A very profit- 
able trade was established with the Indians of this section, and, in order 
to develop its advantages, William Clayborne, a man of great resolution 
and of no mean abilities, a surveyor by profession, was employed by the 
Governor of Virginia to explore the region of the upper Chesapeake. 
His report was so favorable that a company was formed in England for 
the purpose of trading Avith the Indians. Under authority from this 
company, Clayborne obtained a license from the colonial government of 
Virginia, and established two trading stations on the bay ; one on Kent 
island, opposite the ])resent city of Annapolis, and one at the mouth of 
the Susquehanna. These posts were established in the spring of l631. 

In the meantime efforts were being made in England to secure the 
settlement of the same region. Sir George Calvert, a man of noble char- 
acter, liberal education and great political experience, had become at an 
early day deeply interested in the question of colonizing America. 
Having embraced the Roman Catholic faith, he relinquished his office of 
136 




THE COLONIZATION OF MARYLAND. 



137 



Secretary of State, and made a public acknowledgment of his conversion. 
His noble character commanded the confidence of King James, and he 
was retained as a member of the Privy Council, and was made Lord 
Baltimore in the Irish peerage. He was anxious to found a colony in 
America, Avhich might serve as a place of refuge for persons of the 
Catholic faith, and obtained a patent for the southern part of Newfound- 
land. That region was too bleak and rugged to admit of the success 
of the enterprise, and the attempt to settle it was soon abandoned. 

Lord Baltimore next contemplated a settlement in some portion of 
Virginia, and in October, 1629, visited that colony with a view to 
making arrangements for his plantation. The laws of Virginia against 
Roman Catholics were very severe, and immediately upon the arrival of 
so distinguished a Catholic the assembly ordered the oaths of allegiance 
and supremacy to be tendered him. Lord Baltimore proposed a form 
which he was willing to subscribe, but the colonial government insisted upon 
that which had been ordered by the English Parliament, and which was 
of such a character that no Cath- 
olic could accept it. There was 
nothing left for Calvert but to 
withdraw from Virginia, and his 
reception there convinced him that 
that province was not the place 
for the plantation he wished to 
establish. 

The region north of the Potomac was still uninhabited, and seemed to 
promise advantages equal to Virginia. Calvert applied to Charles I. for 
a patent for this region, and was given a territory corresponding very 
nearly to the present State of Maryland in extent. The king granted 
him a liberal charter, which, while it provided for his interests as pro- 
prietor, secured the liberties of the colonists. In this it was simply the 
expression of the wishes of Lord Baltimore, who desired to establish a 
settlement of freemen. The country embraced in the grant was given to 
Lord Baltimore, his heirs and assigns, in absolute possession. They 
were required to pay an annual tribute to the crown of two Indian 
arrows and one-fifth of all the gold and silver which might be found. 
The colonists were to have a voice in making their own laws, and they 
were to be entitled to all the rights and privileges of Englishmen. No 
taxes were to be imposed upon them without their consent, nor Avas the 
authority of the proprietor to extend to their lives or property. It was 
enjoined that the exercise of the faith and worship of the established 
Church of England should be protected in the colony, but no uniform 




COAT OF ARMS OF MARYLAND. 



138 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



standard of faith or worship was imposed by the charter. The new 
province was carefully separated from Virginia and made independent 
of it. The colony was left free from the supervision of the crown, and 
the proprietor was not obliged to obtain the royal assent to the appoint- 
ments or legislation of his province. The king also renounced for 
himself, his heirs and his successors, the right to tax the colony, thus 
leaving it entirely free from English taxation. 

These were vast powers to intrust to one man ; but they were placed 
in safe hands. The first Lord Baltimore was a man who hated tyranny 
of all kinds, and who had carefully observed the effects of intolerance 
and arbitrary rule upon the efforts that had already been made to estab- 
lish successful colonies in America. He designed his colony as an 
asylum in which men of all creeds could meet upon a common basis of a 
faith in Jesus Christ, and his conviction tliat religious freedom is neces- 
sary to the success of a state confirmed in him his attachment to the 

principles of civil liberty. He invited both 
Protestants and Catholics to join him in his 
enterprise, and adopted a form of government, 
based upon popular representation, well calcu- 
lated to secure them in the possession of all 
their privileges. In honor of the queen of 
Charles I,, he named the region granted to him 
INIaryland. Before the patent was issued, Lord 
Baltimore died, on the 15th of April, 1632, 
leaving his son, Cecil, heir to his designs as 
LOUD BALTIMORE. y^r^n gg ^q ^Is tltlc. The charter granted to his 

father was issued to him, and he proceeded at once to collect a colony for 
the settlement of Maryland. 

Lord Baltimore delegated the task of conducting the emigrants to 
Maryland to his brother, Leonard Calvert. On Friday, November 22d, 
1632, a company of 200, chiefly Roman Catholics of good birth, with 
their families and servants, sailed from England in the "Ark" and the 
" Dove," the former a ship of large burthen, the latter a small pinnace. 
The voyage was made by way of the AVest Indies, and the Chesapeake 
was not reached until the 24th of February, 1634. The ships anchored 
off Old Point Comfi)rt, and were visited by Sir John Harvey, Governor 
of Virginia, who had been commanded by the king to welcome the new 
colony with kindness. 

Resting in Hampton roads for a few days, the emigrants ascended the 
bay and entered the stately Potomac. Deeming it unsafe to plant his 
fii-st settlement high up the river, Calvert chose a site on a small 




THE COLONIZATION OF MARYLAND. 



139 



tributary of the Potomac, not far from its mouth. This stream, now 
known as the St. Mary's, he named the St. George's. An Indian 
village, called Yoacomoco, was selected as the site of the colony. The 
place was being deserted by the natives, who had suffered severely from 
the superior power of the Susquehannahs, and were removing farther into 
the interior for greater security. They readily sold their town and the 
surrounding lands to the English, and made with them a treaty of peace 
and friendship; and on the 27th of March, 1634, the colonists landed 
and laid the foundations of the town of St. Mary's. 

A few days later, Sir John Harvey arrived from Virginia on a friendly 
visit. His orders from the king; Avere to treat the settlers with frieud- 




MISSIONARY PREACHING TO THE INDIANS. 



ship, and to aid them as far as lay in his power. About the same time 
the native chiefs came in to visit the colony, and were so well received 
that they established friendly relations with the settlers. The Indian 
women taught their English sisters how to make bread from the meal of 
the Indian corn, and the warriors instructed the Englishmen in their 
simple arts of the chase. The colonists obtained provisions and cattle 
for a while from Virginia ; but, as they went to work at once and with 
energy to cultivate their land, the first year's harvest gave them an 
abundance of supplies. The proprietor sent out from England such 
things as were necessary to the success and comfort of the colony, treating 
the new settlement with a wise liberality. Thus were the foundations 



140 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of Maryland laid amid peace and prosperity. The colony was successful 
from the first. Roman Catholic settlers followed the first emigrants in 
considerable numbers, and even Protestants sought the shores of ISIary- 
land, which the liberality of Lord Baltimore had made a refuge to them 
from the persecutions of their own brethren. New settlements were 
formed, and within six months the colony "had advanced more than 
Virginia had done in as many years." 

In February, 1635, the first legislative assembly of Maryland met. 
Legislation had become necessary by this time. Clayborne, who had 
established trading posts in the upper Chesapeake, had met the first 
settlers under Leonard Calvert at their anchorage at Old Point Comfort, 
and had endeavored to dissuade them from settling along the bay by 
exaggerating the dangers to be apprehended from the hostility of the 
Indians. Failing in this efibrt, he became the evil genius of Maryland, 
as the grant to Lord Baltimore made void his license to trade with the 
Indians along the bay. He refused to acknowledge the authority of the 
proprietor of Maryland, and attempted to retain his trading posts by 
force of arms. Within a yoar or two after the settlement of the colony, 
a bloody skirmish occurred in one of the rivers of the eastern shore, in 
which Clayborne's men were defeated. In 1638, Leonard Calvert took 
forcible possession of Kent island, and hanged one or two of Clayborne's 
people on a charge of piracy and murder. Clayborne was in England at 
the time prosecuting his claims before the king. Governor Harvey of 
Virginia had given the weight of his influence in this contest to the 
cause of Lord Baltimore, but the people of Virginia, who resented the 
grant of Maryland as an invasion of their rights, sympathized with 
Clayborne, and caused Harvey to be impeached and sent to England for 
trial. The English courts decided that Clayborne's license was not valid 
against the charter granted to Lord Baltimore, and Harvey was sent back 
to Virginia as governor, in April, 1639. 

In the meantime the colony continued to grow and prosper. The 
assembly, while acknowledging the allegiance of the people of Maryland 
to the king, and making ample provision for the rights of Lord Balti- 
more as proprietor, took care to secure the liberties of the people, and 
claimed for itself the exercise in the province of all the powers belonging 
to the British House of Commons. Representative government was 
definitely established, and the colonists were secured in all the liberties 
granted to the people of England by the common law of that country. 
Tobacco became, as in Virginia, the staple of the colony. In 1642, in 
gratitude for the great expense which Lord Baltimore had voluntarily 
incurred for them, the people of Maryland granted him " such a subsidy 



THE COLONIZATION OF MARYLAND. 



141 



as the young and poor estate of the colony could bear." As far as the 
people themselves were concerned, the condition of Maryland was one of 
marked happiness and contentment. Harmony prevailed between all 
classes of the people and the government ; the settlers were blessed with 
complete toleration in religion ; emigration was rapidly increasing, and 
the commerce of the colony was growing in extent and value. 

Maryland had its troubles, however. The Indians, alarmed by its 
rapid growth, began in 1642 a series of aggressions which led to a 
frontier war. This struggle continued for some time, but was productive 
of no decisive results, and 



in 1644 peace was restored. 
The Indians promised sub- 
mission, and the whites, on 
their part, agreed to treat 
them with friendship and 
justice. Laws were enacted 
compelling the settlers to re- 
frain from injustice toward 
the savages, and humanity to 
the red man was made the 
policy of the colony. The 
kidnapping of an Indian was 
punishable with death, and 
the sale of arms to the sav- 
ages was constituted a felony. 
Efforts were also made to 
convert the natives to Chris- 
tianity. Four missions were 
established among them by 
the priests of the Catholic 
Church, and the effects of 
their devoted labors were soon manifest. A chief, named Tayac, and his 
wife were baptized, he taking the name of Charles and she that of Mary. 
About 130 other converts were afterwards added to the Christian fold 
among the Indians, and many of these sent their children to receive in- 
struction at the hands of the priests. Though the effort to Christianize 
the savages failed, as it has ever done, the good effects of these endeavors 
were not lost, as the friendship for the whites aroused by them continued 
to influence these tribes in their policy toward the colony. 

Clayborne, who had certainly cause for thinking himself wronged in 
being deprived of his property without just compensation, returned to 




A CONVERTED INDIAN. 



142 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Maryland to revenge himself upon the colonists. The civil war in 
England furnished him with an admirable opportunity for his attempt. 
He was able to secure a number of followers in Maryland, and in 1644 
began an insurrection. The next year the governor was driven out of 
the colony and obliged to take refuge in Virginia, and Clayborne was 
triumphant. For more than a year the rebels held possession of the 
government, and this whole time was a period of disorder and misrule, 
during which the greater part of the colonial records were lost or stolen. 
At the end of this time, the better classes of the people of Maryland 
drove out the rebels, and recalled the proprietary government. A 
general amnesty was proclaimed to all offenders, and peace was restored 
to the colony. 

The year 1 649 was marked in England by the execution of Charles I,, 
and the complete establishment of the authority of the Parliament. It 
seemed to the people of Maryland that this triumph of the popular party 
was to usher in a new war upon the Roman Catholic faith, which was pro- 
fessed by a large majority of the colonists. Dreading a war of religion as 
the greatest of evils, they determined to secure the colony from it, by plac- 
ing the freedom of conscience within their limits upon as secure a basis 
as possible. On the 21st of April, 1649, the assembly of Maryland 
adopted the following act : "And whereas the enforcing of conscience in 
matters of religion hath frequently fallen out to be of dangerous conse- 
quence in those commonwealths where it has been practised, and for the 
more quiet and peaceable government of this province, and the better to 
preserve mutual love and amity among the inhabitants, no person within 
this province, professing to believe in Jesus Christ, shall be anyways 
troubled, molested, or discountenanced for his or her religion, or in the 
free exercise thereof, or be compelled to the belief or practice of any 
other religion against their consent." 

This statute, noble as it was, api)lied only to Christians. It was pro- 
vided that " Whatsoever person shall blaspheme God, or shall deny or 
reproach the Holy Trinity, or any of the three persons thereof, shall be 
punished with death." INIaryland had taken a great stride in advance in 
making her soil a sanctuary for Christians of all beliefs, but she had not 
yet accorded to her people a toleration equal to that of Rhode Island, 
which colonv, in 1647, granted liberty to all opinions, infidel as well as 
Christian. 

During the existence of the commonwealth, the colony was troubled 
with an unsettled government. It submitted to the authority of Crom- 
well, and the Puritans, regardless of the example of their brethren of the 
Catholic faith, attempted by an act of assembly, in 1654, to disfranchise 



THE COLONIZATION OF MARYLAND. 143 

the whole Roman Catholic population on the ground of their religious 
belief. Cromwell disapproved this action, and bluntly ordered his com- 
missioners " not to busy themselves about religion, but to settle the civil 
government." In 1660, without waiting to hear the issue of matters in 
England, the assembly repudiated the authority of both the common- 
wealth and the proprietor, and asserted the sovereignty of the people as 
the supreme authority in Maryland. 

Upon the restoration of Charles II., Lord Baltimore made his peace 
with the king for having yielded to the power of Cromwell, and received 
back all the rights he had enjoyed in Maryland. He at once proceeded 
to re-establish his authority in the province, but being a man of humanity 
and of liberal views, he made a generous use of his power. A general 
pardon was granted to all offenders against him, his rule was once more 
submitted to, and for thirty years the colony Avas at peace. 

"Like Virginia, Maryland was a colony of planters; its staple was 
tobacco, and its prosperity was equally checked by the pressure of the 
navigation acts. Like Virginia, it possessed no considerable village ; its 
inhabitants were scattered among the woods and along the rivers ; each 
plantation was a little world within itself, and legislation vainly attempted 
the creation of towns by statute. Like Virginia, its laborers were in 
part indentured servants, whose term of service was limited by persever- 
ing legislation; in part negro slaves, Avho were employed in the colony 
from an early period, and whose importation was favored both by English 
cupidity and provincial statutes. As in Virginia, the appointing power 
to nearly every office in the counties as well as in the province was not 
with the people; and the judiciary was placed beyond their control. As 
in Virginia, the party of the proprietary, which possessed the govern- 
ment, was animated by a jealous regard for prerogative, and by the 
royalist principles, which derive the sanction of authority from the will 
of heaven. As in Virginia, the taxes levied by the county officers were 
not conceded by the direct vote of the people, and were, therefore, bur- 
densome alike from their excessive amount and the manner of their levy. 
But though the administration of Maryland did not favor the increasing 
spirit of popular liberty, it was marked by conciliation and humanity. 
To foster industry, to promote union, to cherish religious peace, . . . 
these were the honest purposes of Lord Baltimore during his long su- 
premacy."* 

Yet the colony continued to prosper. Emigrants came to it from 
almost every country of western Europe, and even from Sweden and Fin- 

* History of (he United Slates. By George Bancroft, vol. ii., p. 235. 



144 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

land. The only persons who had cause for complaint in Maryland were 
the Quakers, who were treated with considerable harshness for their 
refusal to perform military duty ; but no effort was made to interfere with 
the exercise of their religion. 

In 16G2, Charles Calvert, the son and heir of Lord Baltimore, came 
to reside in the colony. Money was coined at a colonial mint, a tonnage 
duty was imposed upon all vessels trading with the colony, and a state 
house was built in 1674, at a cost of forty thousand pounds of tobacco, 
or about five thousand dollars. By numerous acts of compromise between 
Lord Baltimore and the assembly the question of taxation Avas adjusted 
upon a satisfactory basis. The people assumed the expense of the pro- 
vincial government, and agreed to the imposition of an export duty of 
two shillings per hogshead upon all the tobacco sent out of the colony. 
One-half of this duty was appropriated to the support of the government, 
and the remainder was assigned unconditionally to the uses of Lord 
Baltimore, as " an act of gratitude " for his care of the colony. 

On the 30th of November, 1G75, Cecil Calvert, second Lord Balti- 
more, died. He had been for fourteen years the earnest and devoted 
friend, as well as the generous lord of the province, and had lived long 
enough to enjoy the gratitude with which the colony sought to repay his 
judicious care. His memory is perpetuated by the chief city of Mary- 
land, which bears his name, and which is already the largest city on the 
Atlantic coast, south of the Susquehanna, and tlie fifth in population in 
the United States. Charles Calvert, who had been for fourteen years 
governor of Maryland, succeeded to his father's titles and possessions, 
and in 1676 returned to England. Previous to his departure from 
Maryland he gave his sanction to the colonial code of laws, Avhich had 
been thoroughly revised. One of these laws prohibited the " importation 
of convicted persons " into the colony without regard to the will of the 
king or Parliament of England. 

Notwithstanding the mild and equitable government of the third Lord 
Baltimore, the spirit of popular liberty was becoming too strong in the 
colony for the rule of the proprietor to be cheerfully acquiesced in much 
longer. The rebellion of Bacon in Virginia affected the Maryland colony 
profoundly, and when Lord Baltimore returned to the province in 1681, 
he found a large part of the people hostile to him. An attempt at insur- 
rection was suppressed, but the seeds of trouble were too deeply sown not 
to spring up again. 

The increase of the population had left the Roman Catholics in a small 
minority, so that ISIaryland was now to all intents and purposes a 
Protestant colony. During tiie latter })art of the reign of Charles II. 



THE COLONIZATION OF MARYLAND. 145 

the Protestants, regardless of the wise policy of toleration M'hicli had 
hitherto marked the history of the province, endeavored to secure the 
establishment by law of the Church of England in Maryland. Lord 
Baltimore steadfastly resisted this unwise course, and maintained the 
freedom of conscience as the right of the people. He thus added to the 
existing opposition to his proprietary rule the hostility of the Protestant 
bigots. A little later, the English ministry struck the first blow at his 
proprietary rights and at the religious freedom of Maryland by ordering 
that all the offices of the colonial government should be bestowed upon 
Protestants alone. " Roman Catholics were disfranchised in the province 
which they had planted." 

Lord Baltimore hoped that the succession of James IL, a Catholic 
sovereign, would restore him the rights of which he had been deprived in 
his province; but he was soon undeceived, for the king, who intended to 
bring all the American colonies directly under the control of the crown, 
would make no exception in favor of Maryland, and measures were put 
in force for the abolition of the proprietary government. The revolution 
which placed William and Mary on the throne prevented the execution 
of these plans. 

The troubles of Lord Baltimore were increased by the failure of the 
deputy-governor, whom he had left in Maryland,to acknowledge William 
and Mary promptly. In August, 1689, occurred an insurrection led by 
"The association in arms for the defence of the Protestant relig-ion." The 
deputy-governor was driven from office, the proprietary government was 
overturned, and William and Mary were proclaimed sovereigns of Mary- 
land. The party in power appealed to the king to annul the proprietary 
charter, and governed the colony by means of a convention until the 
royal pleasure should be known. Lord Baltimore endeavored to defend 
his rights, but in spite of his struggles, William III., in June, 1691, 
annulled the charter of Maryland, and by the exercise of his own power 
constituted that colony a royal province. In 1692, the king appointed 
Sir Lionel Copley governor of Maryland. Upon his arrival in the 
colony he dissolved the convention and assumed the government. He at 
once summoned an assemblv, which, recos-nizins; William and Marv as 
the lawful sovereigns of Maryland, established the Church of England 
as the religion of the colony, and imposed taxes for its support. The 
capital was removed from St. Mary's to Annapolis, both because the old 
seat of government had become inconvenient and because it was desired 
to remove the government to the centre of Protestant influence. The 
disfranchisement of the Catholics advanced step by step. At first the 
dissenters from the established church were granted toleration and pro- 
10 



146 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tection, but in 1704 the triumph of bigotry was complete. All the 
dissenting bodies were tolerated, but Roman Catholics were forbidden the 
exercise of their faith. Mass was not allowed to be said in public, nor was 
any bishop or clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church to be permitted to 
seek to make converts for his faith. Other severe measures were enacted, 
and in the land which Catholics had settled, the members of that com- 
munion alone were denied the rights which in the day of their power 
they had offered to others. Nor did the royalist assembly manifest any 
care for the true interests of the province. Education was neglected; 
the establishment of printing was prohibited ; and the domestic manu- 
factures which the necessities of tlie colony had brought into existence 
w^ere discouraged. In 1710 the population numbered over 30,000, free 
and slave. 

In 1715 Benedict Charles Calvert, the fourth Lord Baltimore, suc- 
ceeded in obtaining the restoration of his rights in Maryland, and the 
province passed into his hands. The people had been so disgusted with 
the rule of the royal governors that no opposition was mads to this 
change. The new Lord Baltimore, unlike the rest of his family, was a 
Protestant, which was the cause of his restoration to his hereditary rights. 
After his restoration the colony increased with still greater rapidity. 
The establishment of a post route, in 1695, between the Potomac and 
Philadelphia, had brought it into communication with the Northern 
colonies. In 1729 the town of Baltimore was founded. Frederick City 
was settled in 1745, and in 1751 Avas followed by Georgetown, now in 
the District of Columbia. In 1756 the population of the colony had 
increased to 154,188 souls, of whom over 40,000 were negroes. The 
increase in material prosperity was equally marked. By the last-men- 
tioned year the annual exj)ort of tobacco was 30,000 hogsheads, and, in 
spite of the efforts of the home government to prevent it, there were 
eight furnaces and nine forges for smelting copper in operation in 
the province. 




■IT 



CHAPTER X. 

THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 

Rise of the Puritans — Their Increase in England — They are Persecuted by the English 
Church and Government — Conduct of James I. — His Hatred of Puritanism — Puritans 
take Kefuge in Holland — The Congregation of John Robinson — They Escape to Holland 
— The Pilgrims — Their Sojourn at Leyden — They wish to Emigrate to Virginia — 
Failure of their Negotiations with the London Company — They form a Partnership in 
England — A Hard Bargain — Departure of the Pilgrims from Holland — Voyage of the 
" Mayflower " — Arrival in New England — The Agreement on board the " Mayflower " 
— Carver chosen Governor — Settlement of Plymouth — The first Winter in New England 
— Sufferings of the Pilgrims — Arrival of new Emigrants^ — Continued Suffering — Assign- 
ment of Lands — Friendly Intercourse with Indians — Samoset and Squanto — Visit of 
Massasoit — A Threat of War — Bradford's Defiance — Weston's Men — A Narrow Escape 
— The Colonists Purchase the Interests of their English Partners — Lands Assigned in 
Fee Simple — The Colony Benefited by the Change — Government of Plymouth — Steady 
Growth of the Colony. 

HE persecutions with which Queen Mary afflicted the reformers 
of England in her bloody effort to restore the Roman Catholic 
faith in that country caused many of the most eminent men of 
the English Church to seek safety on the continent of Europe. 
Upon the accession of Elizabeth the Church of England became 
one / aore the religion of the state, and the reformers were free to return 
to their own country. They came back with broader and more liberal 
views fthan they had carried aAvay with them, and there sprang up in the 
English Church a party which demanded a purer and more spiritual 
form of worship than that of the church. These persons were called in 
derision Puritans. They adopted the name without hesitation, and soon 
made it an honorable distinction. The queen, however, was determined 
to compel her subjects to conform to the established church, and was 
especially resolved to make them acknowledge her supremacy over the 
church. To the Puritan the worship of the Church of England was 
only less sinful than that of Rome, and to acknowledge the queen as the 
head of the church was to commit blasphemy. He claimed that the 
queen had no control over him in matters of religion, and that it was 
his right to worship God in his own way, without interference. The 
Puritans gradually came to embrace in their number some of the best 

147 




148 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

men in the English Church. These sincerely deprecated a separation 
from the church, and earnestly desired to carry the reformation to the 
extent of remedying the abuses of which they complained, and to remain 
in communion with the church. One of the reforms which they wished 
to inaugurate was the abolition of Episcopacy. Failing in their eiibrts, 
they desired to be let alone to form their own organizations and to 
worship God according to their own ideas, without" the pale of the Church 
of England. 

The queen and the bishops were not content to allow them this 
freedom. England had not yet learned the lesson of toleration, and 
severe measures were inaugurated to compel the dissenters to conform to 
the established church. All persons in the kingdom were required to 
conform to the ceremonies of the church. A refusal to do so was pun- 
ished with banishment. Should any person so banished return to the 
kingdom without permission he was to be put to death. Accused persons 
were obliged to answer upon oath all questions concerning themselves and 
their acquaintance, respecting their attendance upon public worship. 
Ministers refusing to conform to the established usage were deprived of 
their parishes ; and if they persisted in preaching to their congregations, 
or if the congregations were detected in listening to their deposed pastors, 
the offenders were fined or subjected to some severer punishment. 
Absence from the services of the church for a certain length of time was 
also punished. The persecution thus inaugurated drove many of the 
nonconformists, as they were termed, into exile from England. They 
fled to Holland and Switzerland, where alone they found " freedom to 
worship God." In spite of the severe measures and determined eflTorts 
of Elizabeth, the Puritans increased steadily in numbers and importance 
in England. 

Thcv Avere hopeful that James I. would jirove a more lenient sovereign 
to them than Elizabeth had been, and they had good ground for this 
hope. The real character of James was unknown in England, and while 
King of Scotland he had shown great favor to the Presbyterians of that 
kingdom, Avhom it was his interest to conciliate. He had once publicly 
thanked God "that he was king of such a kirk — the purest kirk in all 
the world. As for the Kirk of England," he added, " its service is an 
evil-said mass." This most contemptible of monarch- had scarcely 
become King of England when he uttered the fomous maxim, " !No 
bishop, no king! " which pithily states the policy of his reign. Interest 
had made him the foe of episcopacy in Scotland ; the same motive made 
him its champion in England. U})on his entrance into his new kingdom, 
the Puritans met him with an humble petition for a redress of their 



THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 149 

grievances. James quickly saw that the majority of the English people 
favored a support of the church as it was, and had no sympathy with the 
Puritans, and he at once constituted himself the enemy of the petitioners. 
Still, in order to cover his desertion of the party to which he had 
belonged in Scotland, he appointed a conference at Hampton Court. 

The conference was held in January, 1604, and the king, silencing all 
real debate, made the meeting merely the occasion of displaying what he 
regarded as his talents for theological controversy, and for announcing 
the decision he had resolved upon from the first. He demanded entire 
obedience to the church in matters of faith and worship. '* I will have 
none of that liberty as to ceremonies," he declared. " I will have one 
doctrine, one discipline, one religion in substance and in ceremony. 
Never speak more to that point, how far you are bound to obey." The 
Puritans then demanded permission to hold occasional ceremonies of their 
own, with the right of free discussions in them ; but James, who could 
never tolerate the expression of any opinion adverse to his own, replied : 
" You are aiming at a Scot's presbytery, which agrees with monarchy as 
well as God and the devil. Then Jack and Tom and Will and Dick 
shall meet, and at their pleasure censure me and my council and all our 
proceedings. Then Will shall stand up and say. It must be thus. Then 
Dick shall reply and say. Nay, marry, but we will have it thus. And 
therefore here I nmst once more reiterate my former speech, and say. The 
king forbids." Then turning to the bishops, he added : " I will make 
them conform, or I will harry them out of the land, or else worse ; only 
hang them ; that's all." The king kept his word. The severe laws 
against the nonconformists were enforced that year with such energy that 
three hundred Puritan ministers are said to have been silenced, impris- 
oned, or exiled. The church party proceeded in the next few years to 
still more rigorous measures, and were willing even to place the liberties 
of the nation at the mercy of the crown in order to compel the submis- 
sion of the Puritans. The introduction of foreign publications into the 
kingdom was greatly restricted, and the press was placed under a severe 
censorship. The Puritans were thus forced to become the champions of 
popular liberty against the tyranny of the crown and the ecclesiastical 
party, and the issue which was to be fought out by the next generation 
was distinctly joined. 

There was a congregation of Puritans in the north of England, com- 
])()sed of people of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, with some from 
Yorkshire. The pastor was John Robinson, "a man not easily to be 
paralleled," who possessed in an unusual degree the love and confidence 
of his people. They were greatly harassed by the agents of the king and 



150 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the bishops, and were subjected to such serious annoyances that it Avas 
with difficulty that they could hold their meetings. Finding it impos- 
sible to live in peace at home without doing violence to their consciences, 
they determined to leave England and seek refuge from persecution in 
Holland. That country was friendly to the English, and the Dutch had 
learned from their own sufferings to respect the rights of conscience in 
others. It was not an easy matter to leave England, however, for it was 
held by the government to be almost a crime to attempt to escape from 
persecution. A vessel was hired to convey the refugees to Holland ; but 
the royal officers were informed of the intended voyage, and seized the 
whole company as they were about to embark. Their persons were 
searched, their small possessions seized, and the whole church — men, 
women, and children — thrown into prison. In a short while all but seven 
Avere released. These were brought to trial, but it was found impossible 
to prove any crime against them, and they also were discharged. 

This action of the government, so far from intimidating the suiferers, 
but increased their resolve to leave England, and in the spring of 1608 
the effi)rt was renewed. A Dutch captain consented to convey them to 
Holland, and it was agreed that the refugees should assemble upon a 
lonely heath in Lincolnshire, near the mouth of the Humber, and be 
taken on board by the Dutch skipper. The men of the party went to 
the rendezvous by land, and got safely on board the ship ; but the boat 
conveying the women and children was strandetl and captured by a party 
of horsemen sent in pursuit. The Dutch skipper, fearful of becoming 
involved in trouble with the English authorities, at once put to sea, and 
the exiles were separated from their families, who were left helpless in 
the hands of their oppressors. The women and children were treated 
with great harshness by their captors, and were taken before the magis- 
trates, Avho found it impossible to punish them for an attempt to follow 
the fortunes of their husbands and fathers. They were at a loss to know 
what to do with the prisoners, who no longer had homes in England, and 
at last released them unconditionally, and jiermitted them to rejoin their 
natural protectors in Holland. 

The exiles reached Amsterdam in the spring of 1608. They were well 
pleased to be safe in this peaceful refuge, but they did not deceive them- 
selves with the hope that it could ever be a home to them. " They 
knew they were Pilgrims, and looked not much on those things, but 
lifted up their eyes to heaven, their dearest country, and quieted their 
spirits." They found it hard to earn a support in Amsterdam, and in 
1609 removed to Leyden, where, by their industry and frugality, they 
managed to live in comparative comfort. Their piety and exemplary 



THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 15l 

conduct won for them the respect of the Dutch, who would have openly 
shown them marked favor but for their fear of offending the King of 
England. The magistrates of Leyden bore ready witness to their purity 
of life. " Never," said they, " did we have any suit or accusation 
against any of them," 

In the course of time the Pilgrims were joined by a number of their 
brethren from England. They were nearly all accustomed to agricul- 
tural pursuits, and in Holland they were obliged to earn their bread by 
mechanical labors. It was with difficulty that they could do this, and 
they never formed any attachment to the place of their exile. They 
preserved, through all their trials, their affection for their native land, 
and cherished the hope that they might continue Englishmen to the close 
of their lives. They viewed with alarm the prospect of raising their 
children in Holland, where they would necessarily be thrown in constant 
contact with, and be influenced by, the manners and customs of the 
country. Above all they dreaded the effect upon their children of the 
dissolute example of the disbanded soldiers and sailors who filled the 
country. These and other things made them unwilling to look upon 
Holland as their permanent home. But whither should they go in case 
of their departure from Holland? Their own country was closed 
against them, and the nations of continental Europe could offer them no 
asylum. As their conviction, that it was their duty to seek some other 
home, deepened, their thoughts became more irresistibly directed 
towards the new world. In the vast solitudes of the American continent, 
and there alone, they could establish a home in which they could worship 
God without fear or molestation, and rear their children in the ways that 
seemed to them good. Thither would they go. 

They were anxious to make their venture under the protection of 
England, and declined the offers made them by the Dutch, who wished 
them to establish their colony as a dependency of Holland. They had 
heard of the excellent climate and fertile soil of Virginia, and it seemed 
best to them to choose that promising region as the scene of their experi- 
ment. It was necessary to obtain the consent of the London Company 
to their settlement, as Virginia had been granted to that body by the 
King of England ; and in 1617 two of the leading members of the con- 
gregation — John Carver and Robert Cushman — went to England to lay 
their application before tlie company. They were kindly received by 
Sir Edwin Sandys, the secretary of the company. They laid before the 
directors the request for permission to form a settlement in Virginia, 
with which they had been charged by their brethren. The application 
was signed by the greater part of the congregation, and contained a state- 



152 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ment of their principles, and their reasons for desiring to emigrate to 
America. " We verily believe that God is with us," said the petitioners, 
" and will prosper us in our endeavors ; we are weaned from our mother 
country, and have learned patience in a hard and strange land. We are 
industrious and frugal; we are bound together by a sacred bond of the 
Lord, whereof we make great conscience, holding ourselves to each other's 
good. We do not wish ourselves home again ; we have nothing to hope 
from England or Holland ; we are men who Avill not be easily dis- 
couraged." 

The appeal of the Pilgrims was received with such favor by the 
London Company that Carver and Cushman ventured to petition the 
king to grant them liberty to exercise their religion unmolested in the 
wilds of America. The most that James would consent to grant them, 
liowever, was a half promise to pay no attention to them in their new 
home. The London Company agreed to grant them permission to settle 
in Virginia, but the dissensions of that body prevented anything from 
being done in their behalf. 

The Pilgrims were too poor to defray the cost of their emigration, and 
they set to work to find persons of means willing to assist them. At 
length they were successful, and a company Mas formed consisting of 
themselves and several merchants of London. The latter were to 
advance the funds necessary for the enterprise, while the former were to 
contribute their entire services for a period of seven years, as their share 
of the stock of the company. At the end of seven years the profits of 
the enterprise were to be divided according to the amount of each one's 
investment ; and it was agreed that a contribution of ten pounds in money 
by a merchant should be entitled to as great a share of the profits as seven 
years of labor on the part of the emigrant. These were hard terms for 
the Pilgrims, but they were the best they could obtain, and they were 
accepted, as the exiles were willing to suffer any sacrifice in order to be 
able to found a community of their own in which they could bring up 
their children in the fear of God. The main thing with them was to reach 
the shores of America. Once there these men who had learned the 
lessons of self-denial and endurance did not doubt their ability to succeed 
even in the face of the heavy disadvantages they were obliged to assume. 

With the funds thus obtained the Pilgrims began to prepare for their 
departure. A ship of sixty tons, called the " Speedwell," was j>urchased, 
and another, of one hundred and eighty tons, called the " Mayflower," 
was chartered. These, however, could transport but a part of the congre- 
giition, and it was resolved to send out at first only "such of the youngest 
and strongest as freely oifered themselves." The pastor, Robinson, and 



THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 153 

the aged and infirm were to remain at Leyden until their brethren could 
send for them, and the colony was placed under the guidance of AVilliam 
Brewster, the governing elder, who was an able teacher and much re- 
spected and beloved for his noble character. 

When all was in readiness, a day of fasting and prayer was held, in 
order that at the very beginning of their enterprise the Pilgrims might 
invoke the guidance and protection of God. " Let us seek of God," they 
said, " a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our sub- 
stance." The venerable pastor made this solemn season the occasion of 
delivering a tender farewell to the members of his charge who were about 
to depart, and of appealing to them to be true to the principles of their 
religion in their new home. " I charge you before God and his blessed 
angels," he said, in tones of deep emotion, "that you follow me no further 
than you have seen me follow the Lord Jesus Christ. If God reveal 
anything to you, be ready to receive it; for I am verily persuaded that 
the Lord has more truth yet to break out of his holy word. I beseech 
you, remember that it is an article of your church covenant, that you be 
ready to receive whatever truth shall be made known to you from the 
written w^ord of God. Take heed what ye receive as truth ; examine it, 
consider it, and compare it with other scriptures of truth before you 
receive it ; the Christian world has not yet come to the perfection of 
knowledge." 

From Leyden a number of the brethren accompanied the emigrants to 
Delft Haven, from which port they were to sail. The night before their 
departure, they all assembled in prayer and religious exercises, which 
were continued until the dawn, when they prepared to go on board the 
ship. Arrived at the shore, they knelt again, and the pastor, Robinson, 
led them in prayer — the emigrants listening to his voice for the last time 
on earth. "And so," says Edward Winslow, " lifting up our hands to 
each other, and our hearts to the Lord our God, we departed." 

Southampton was soon reached, and the voyagers were transferred to 
the "Mayflower" and the " Speedwell." On the 5th of August, 1620, 
those vessels sailed from Southampton for America. Soon after getting, 
to sea, it was discovered that the " Speedwell " was in need of repairs, 
and that they must return to England. They put about and reached 
the port of Dartmouth, where the smaller vessel was repaired. Eight 
days were consumed in this undertaking, and the voyage was resumed. 
They were scarcely out of sight of land when the commander of the 
" Speedwell," alarmed by the dangers of the voyage, declared that his 
ship was not strong enough to cross the ocean. The vessels at once put 
back to Plymouth, where the smaller ship was discharged. At the same 



154 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



time those who had grown fainthearted were permitted to withdraw from 
the expedition. The remainder of the company, to the number of one 
hundred and one, sailed from Plymouth in the " Mayflower," on the 6th 
of Sej)tember, 1620. Some of these were women well advanced in preg- 
nancy, and some were children. Their little vessel was but a frail barque 
compared with the ships that now navigate the sea ; but a band of braver 




THE MAYFLOWKU IX rLYMOLTII HARBOR. 



and more resolute souls never trusted themselves to the mercies of the 
stormy Atlantic. 

The ' leading man in the little band of Pilgrims was the ruling elder, 
William Brewster, who was to be their preacher until the arrival of a 
regularly chosen pastor. He was a man of fine education, refined and 



THE PILGRIM FATHERS. I55 

scholarly tastes, and of pure and lofty Christian character. " He laid 
his hand," says Elliott, " to the daily tasks of life, as well as spent his 
soul in trying to benefit his fellows — so bringing himself as near as 
possible to the early Christian practices; he was worthy of being the 
first minister of New England." He was well advanced in life, and was 
looked up to with affectionate regard by his associates. 

Another was John Carver, also a man of years and ripe experience, 
who had sacrificed his fortune to the cause, and whose dignified and 
benevolent character won him the honor of being chosen the first chief 
magistri^ite of the colony. 

Prominent among the leaders was William Bradford. He was only 
thirty-two, but was a man of earnest and resolute character, firm and 
true, "a man of nerve and public spirit." He had begun life as a 
farmer's boy in England, and in Holland had supported himself by 
practising the art of dyeing ; but, in spite of his constant labors, he had 
educated himself and had managed to accumulate books of his own. He 
systematically devoted a large part of his time to study, and thus care- 
fully trained his natural abilities, which were very great. 

Edward Winslow, a man of sweet and amiable disposition, was 
twenty-six years old. He was a gentleman by birth, and had been well 
educated, and had acquired considerable information and experience by 
travel. 

Miles Standish had attained the mature age of thirty-six, and was a 
veteran soldier. He had seen service in the wars of the continent of 
Europe, and had gained an honorable distinction in them. He was not 
a member of the church, but was strongly attached to its institutions. 

" With the people of God he had chosen to suffer affliction, 
.... In return for his zeal, they .... made him Captain of Plymouth; 
He was a man of honor, of noble and generous nature ; 
Thougli he was rough, he was kindly .... 
Somewhat hasty and hot .... and headstrong, 
Stern as a soldier might be, but hearty and placable always, 
Not to be laughed at and scorned, because he was little of stature ; 
For he was great of heart, magnanimous, courtly, courageous." 

The voyage of the " Mayflower " was long and stormy. The Pilgrims 
had selected the country near the mouth of the Hudson as the best region 
for their settlement, but a severe storm drove them northward to the 
coast of New England. Sixty-three days were consumed in the passage, 
during which one of their number had died, and at length land was 
made, and on the 9th of November, two days later, the " Mayflower " 
cast anchor in the harbor of Cape Cod. 



156 HISTORY OF THE VISITED STATES. 

The Pilerrims had come to America at their own risk and without the 
sanction of, or a charter from, the king or any lawful organization in 
England, They were thrown upon their own resources, and could look 
to no quarter for protection or support. Appreciating the necessity of an 
organized government, their first acts after anchoring in Cape Cod bay 
were to organize themselves into a body politic and to form a govern- 
ment. The following compact was drawn up in the cabin of the " May- 
flower," and was signed by all the men of the colony, to the number of 
forty-one : " In the name of God, amen ; we M^hose names are under- 
written, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign King James, having 
undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian 
faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first 
colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly 
and mutually, in the presence of God and of one another, covenant and 
combine ourselves together, into a civil body politic, for our better order- 
ing and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by 
virtue hereof, to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, 
ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be 
thought most convenient for the general good of the colony, unto which 
M'e promise all due submission and obedience." 

This was the first constitution of New England, democratic in form, 
and resting upon the consent of the governed. It at once established the 
ncAv commonwealth upon the basis of constitutional liberty, and secured 
to the people "just and equal laws" for the "general good." In virtue 
of the compact, John Carver was chosen governor of the colony for the 
ensuing year. 

The prospect which presented itself to the Pilgrims upon their arrival 
at Cape Cod might well have daunted even their resolute souls. It was 
the opening of the winter, and they had come to a barren and rugged 
coast. The climate was severe, and the land was a wilderness. The 
English colony in Virginia was five hundred miles distant, and to the 
north of them the nearest white settlement was the French colony at 
Port Royal. The " Mayflower " was only chartered to convey them to 
America, and must return to England as soon as they had chosen a site 
and established a settlement. Yet no one faltered. The new land was 
reached, the difficulties and dangers were such as could be overcome by 
patience and fortitude, and the Pilgrims without hesitation addressed 
themselves to the task before them. 

The first thing to be done was to explore the coast and choose a site 
for the colonv, for it was ini})ortant to begin their settlement before the 
severity of the winter should render such an effort impossible. The 



THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 157 

shallop was gotten out, but unfortunately it was found to need repairs. 
The ship's carpenter worked so slowly that nearly three weeks were spent 
in tliis task. This delay was a great misfortune at this advanced season 
of the year, and, some of the party becoming impatient, it was resolved 
to go ashore in the ship's boat and explore the country by land. A party 
of sixteen men was detailed for this purpose, and placed under the com- 
mand of Captain Miles Standish. William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins 
and Edward Tilly, were included in the party as a council of war. The 
explorers were given numerous instructions, and were rather permitted 
than ordered to go upon their journey, which was regarded as perilous, 
and the time of their absence was limited to two days. 

Upon reaching the shore they followed it for about a mile, when they 
discovered several Indians watching them from a distance. The savages 
fled as soon as they saw they were observed, and the whites followed in 
pursuit. They struck the trail of the retreating Indians, and followed it 
until nightfall, but being encumbered by the weight of their armor and 
impeded by the tangled thickets through which they had to pass, they 
were unable to overtake the Indians. The explorers bivouacked that 
night by a clear spring, whose waters refreshed them after their fatiguing 
march. They made few discoveries, but the expedition was not entirely 
unprofitable. In one place they found a deer-trap, made by bending a 
young tree to the earth, with a noose under-ground covered with acorns. 
JNIr. Bradford was caught by the foot in this snare, which occasioned 
much merriment. An Indian graveyard was discovered in another place, 
and in one of the graves there was an earthen pot, a mortar, a bow and 
some arrows, and other rude implements. These were carefully replaced 
by the Avhites, who respected the resting-place of the dead. The most 
important discovery was the finding of a cellar or pit carefully lined with 
bark, and covered over with a heap of sand, and containing about four 
bushels of seed corn in ears. As much of this as the men could carry 
was secured, and it was determined to pay the owners of the corn for it 
as soon as they could be found. On the third day the explorers returned 
to the ship, and delivered their corn, which was kept for seed. 

The shallop being finished at length, a party, consisting of Carver, 
, Bradford, Winslow, Standish and others, with eight or ten seamen, was 
sent out on a second expedition on the 6th of December. The weather 
was very cold, and their clothing, drenched with spray, froze as stiff as 
iron armor. They reached the bottom of Cape Cod bay that day, and 
landed, instructing the people in the shallop to follow them along the 
shore. The next day they divided, and searched the neighborhood. 
They found a number of Indian graves, and some deserted v>^igwams, but 



158 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



saw no signs of the inhabitants of the country. That night they en- 
camped near Naratasket, or Great Meadow Creek. On the morning of 
the 8th of December, just as they had finished their prayers, the explorers 
were startled by a war-whoop and a flight of arrows. The Indians, wh^ 
were of the tribe of the Nausites, were put to flight by the discharge of 
a few guns. Some of their people had been kidnapped by the English a 
few years before, and henc^they regarded the new-comers as bent on the 

same errand. The day 
was spent in searching 
for a safe harbor for the 
ship, and at nightfall a 
violent storm of rain and 
snow drove them through 
the breakers into a small 
cove sheltered from the 
gale by a hill. They 
were so wet and chilled 
that they landed at once, 
and, regardless of the 
danger of drawing the 
savages upon them, built 
a fire with great diffi- 
culty, in order to keep 
from perishing with the 
cold. When the morn- 
ing dawned, they found 
that they were on an 
island at the entrance to 
a harbor. The day was 
spent in rest and pre- 
parations. The next day, 
December 10th, was the 
Sabbath, and notwith- 
standing the need of 
prompt action, they spent it in rest and religious exercises. The next 
day, December 11th, 1020, old style, or December 22d, according to our 
present system, the exploring party of the Pilgrims landed at the head of 
the harbor they had discovered. The rock upon which their footsteps 
were first planted is still preserved by their descendants. The place was 
explored, and chosen as the site of the settlement, and was named 
Plymouth, in memory of the last English town from which the Pilgrims 
had sailed. 




LANDING OP THE PILGRIMS. 



THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 159 

The adventurers hastened back to the ship, which stood across the 
\)ay, and four days later cast anchor in Plymouth harbor. No time was 
to be lost ; the " Mayflower " must soon return to England, and the 
emigrants must have some shelter over their heads before her departure. 
To save time each man was allowed to build his own house. This was a 
most arduous task. Many of the men were almost broken down by their 
exposure to the cold, and some had already contracted the fatal diseases 
which were to carry them to the grave before the close of the winter. 
Still they persevered, working bravely when the absence of rain and 
snow would permit them to do so. As the winter deepened, the sickness 
and mortality of the colony increased. At one time there were but seven 
well men in the company. More than forty of the settlers died during 
the winter. John Carver, the good governor of the colony, buried his 
son, and himself soon succumbed to the hardships from which he had 
never shrunk, though never able to endure them. He was followed by 
his heart-broken widow. The wives of Bradford and Winslow, and 
Rose Standish, the sweet young bride of " the Captain of Plymouth " 
were also among the victims. They were all buried on the shore near 
the rock on which they had landed, and lest their graves should tell the 
Indians of the sufferings and weakness of the settlement, their resting- 
place was levelled and sown with grass. William Bradford was chosen 
governor in the place of Carver, and the work went on with firmness and 
without repining. 

At last the long winter drew to a close, and the balmy spring came to 
cheer the settlers with its bright skies and warm breezes. The sick began 
to recover, and the building of the settlement was completed. In course 
of time a large shed was erected for the public stores, and a small hos- 
pital for the sick. A church was also built. It was made stronger than 
the other buildings, as it was to serve as a fortress as well as a place of 
worship, and four cannon were mounted on top of it for defence against 
the savages. Here they assembled on the Sabbath for religious worship, 
and to hear the word of God from the lips of their pastor, the good 
Elder Brewster. In the spring the ground was prepared for cultivation, 
but until the harvest was grown the colonists lived by fishing and 
hunting. 

In March, 1621, the "Mayflower" sailed for England. Not one of 
the Pilgrims wished to return in her. They had their trials, and these 
were sore and heavy, but they had also made a home and a government 
for themselves, where they could enjoy the benefits and protection of 
their own laws, and worship God in safety and in peace. They did not 
doubt that they would some day triumph over their difficulties, and that 



160 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



God would in His own good time crown their labors and their patience 
with success. 

In the autumn of 1621, a reinforcement of new emigrants arrived. 
Thev brought no provisions, and were dependent upon the scanty stock 
of the colony, and the increased demand upon this soon brought the 
settlers face to face with the danger of famine. For six months no one 
received more than half allowance, and this was frequently reduced. " I 
have seen men," says Winslow, " stagger by reason of faintness for want 
of food." On one occasion the whole company would have perished but 
for the kindness of some fishermen, who relieved their wants. This 




THE FIRST CHUBCH IN NEW ENGLAND. 

scarcity of provisions continued for several years, and it was not until 
the end of the fourth year of the settlement that the colonists had any- 
thing like a proper supply of food. In that year neat cattle were intro- 
duced into Plymouth. None of the colonics were called upon to endure 
such privations as were suffered by the Pilgrims. Yet they bore them 
with unshaken fortitude, still trusting that God would give them a 
pleasanter lot in the end. 

The conditions of the contract with the English merchants had required 
the labor of the colonists to be thrown into the common stock. This was 
found to be an unprofitable arrangement, and in 1623 it was agreed that 



THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 161 

each settler should plant for himself, and each family was assigned a 
parcel of land in proportion to its numbers, to cultivate, but " not for an 
inheritance." This arrangement gave great satisfaction and the colonists 
went to work with such a will that after this season there was no scarcity 
of food. In the spring of 1624 each colonist was given a little land in 
fee. The very existence of the colony demanded this departure from the 
hard bargain with the English merchants, and the result justified the 
measure. Abundant harvests rewarded the labors of the settlers, and 
corn soon became so plentiful that the colonists were able to supply the 
savages with it. These, preferring the chase to the labor of the field, 
brought in game and skins to Plymouth and received corn in return. 

In the meantime a friendly intercourse had sprung up between the 
settlers and the Indians. In the first year of the settlement the red men 
were seen hovering upon the outskirts of the village, but they fled upon 
the approach of the whites. Distant columns of smoke, rising beyond 
the woods, told that the savages werfe close at hand, and it was deemed 
best to organize the settlers into a military company, the command of 
which was given to Miles Standish. One day, in March, 1621, the whole 
village was startled by the appearance of an Indian, who boldly entered 
the settlement, and greeted the whites with the friendly words, "Welcome, 
Englishmen ! Welcome, Englishmen ! " He was kindly received, and 
it was found that he was Samoset, and had learned a little English of the 
fishermen at Penobscot. He belonged to the Wampanoags, a tribe occu- 
pying the country north of Narragansett bay and between the rivers of 
Providence and Taunton. He told them that they might possess the 
lands they had taken in peace, as the tribe to which they had belonged 
had been swept away by a pestilence the year before the arrival of the 
Pilgrims. He remained one night with the settlers, who gave him a 
knife, a ring, and a bracelet, and then went back to his people, promising 
to return soon and bring other Indians to trade with them. In a few 
days he came back, bringing with him Squanto, the Indian who had been 
kidnapped by Hunt and sold in Spain. From that country Squanto had 
escaped to England, where he had learned the language. He had man- 
aged to return to his own country, and now appeared to act as interpreter 
to the English in their intercourse with his people. They announced that 
Massasoit, the sachem of the Wampanoags, desired to visit the colony. 
The chieftain was received with all the ceremony the little settlement 
could afford. Squanto acted as interpreter, and a treaty of friendship 
was arranged between Massasoit on behalf of his people and the English. 
The parties to the agreement promised to treat each other with kindness 
and justice, to deliver up offenders, and to assist each other when attacked 
11 



162 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

by their enemies. This treaty was faithfully observed by both parties 
for fifty years. The Pilgrims expressed their willingness to pay for the 
baskets of corn that had been taken by their first exploring party, and 
this they did six months later, when the rightful owners presented them- 
selves. A trade with the Indians was established, and furs were brought 
into Plymouth by them and sold for articles of European manufacture. 

Squanto was the faithful friend of the colony to the end of his life, 
and was regarded by the Pilgrims as " a special instrument sent of God 
for their good beyond their expectation." He taught them the Indian 
method of planting corn and putting fish with it to fertilize the ground, 
and where to find and how to catch fi^h and game. He showed thera 
his friendship in many ways, and was during his lifetime the interpreter 
of the colony. The Pilgrims on their part were not ungrateful to him. 
On one occasion it was rumored in Plymouth that Squanto had been 
seized by the Narragan setts, and had been put to death. A party of ten 
men at once marched into the forest, and surprised the hut where the 
chief of the Narragansetts Avas. Although the tribe could bring five 
thousand warriors into the field, the chief was overaM'ed by the deter- 
mined action of the English, whose firearms gave them a great superi- 
ority, and Squanto was released unharmed. On his death-bed Squanto, 
who- had been carefully nursed by his white friends, asked the governor 
to pray that he might go to " the Englishman's God in heaven." His 
death was regarded as a serious misfortune to the colony. 

Massasoit, whose tribe had been greatly reduced by pestilence, desired 
the alliance of the English as a protection against the Narragansetts, who 
had escaped the scourge, and whose chief, Canonicus, was hostile to him. 
The Narragansetts lived upon the shores of the beautiful bay to which 
they have given their name, and were a powerful and warlike race. 
Canonicus regarded the English with hostility, and in 1622 sent them as 
a defiance a bundle of arrows wrapped in the skin of a rattlesnake. 
Governor Bradford received the challenge from the hands of the chief- 
tain's messenger, and stuffing the skin with powder and ball returned it 
to him, and sternly bade him bear it back to his master. The Indians 
regarded the mystjrious contents of the skin with terror and dread, and 
passed it from tribe to tribe. None dared either keep or destroy it, as it 
was regarded as possessed of some mysterious but powerful influence for 
harm. It was finally returned to the colony, and in a short while 
Canonicus, who had been cowed by the spirited answer of Bradford, 
offered to make a treaty of peace and alliance with the colony. 

The Pilgrims endeavored to treat the Indians with justice. Severe 
penalties were denounced against those who should deprive the savages 



THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 163 

of their property without paying for it, or should treat them with vio- 
lence. Yet the colonists were to have trouble with the red men, and 
that through no fault of their own. 

Among the merchants of London who had invested money in the 
planting of the Plymouth colony was Thomas Weston. Envious of the 
advance made by the colony in the fur-trade, he desired to secure all the 
profits of that traffic by establishing a trading-post of his own. He 
obtained a patent for a small tract on Boston harbor, near Weymouth, 
and settled there a colony of sixty men, the greater number of whom 
were indentured servants. These men, disregarding the warnings of the 
people of Plymouth, gave themselves up to a dissolute life, and drew 
upon themselves the wrath of the Indians by maltreating them, and 
stealing their corn. The Indians, unable to distinguish between the 
guilty and the innocent, resolved to avenge the misconduct of Weston's 
men by a massacre of every white settler in the country. 

Before the plot could be put in execution Massasoit fell sick. Wins- 
low visited him, and found his lodge full of medicine-men and jugglers, 
who were killing him with the noise they made to drive away the disease. 
The kind-hearted Englishman turned the Indian doctors out of the lodge, 
and by giving Massasoit rest, and administering such remedies as his 
case required, restored him to health. The grateful chief revealed the 
plot of his people for the extermination of the English. The Plymouth 
settlers were greatly alarmed, and measures were promptly taken to avert 
the danger. Standish, with eight armed men, was sent to the assistance 
of the settlement at Weymouth. They arrived in time to prevent the 
attack. The Indians, who had begun to collect for the massacre, were 
surprised and defeated in a brief engagement, and the chief, who was the 
leader of the conspiracy, was slain, with a number of his men. This 
gallant exploit established the supremacy of the English in New Eng- 
land, and many of the native tribes sought their friendship and alliance. 
The Weymouth men were unwilling to continue their colony after their 
narrow escape. Some went to Plymouth, where they became a source of 
trouble, and others returned to England. The spring of 1623 saw the 
last of this settlement. 

In the autumn of 1623 the best harvest was gathered in that had yet 
blessed the labors of the Pilgrims. It was an abundant yield, and put 
an end to all fears of a renewal of the danger of famine. When the 
labors of the harvest were over Governor Bradford sent out men to 
collect game, in order that the people might enjoy a thanksgiving feast. 
On the appointed day the people " met together and thanked God with 
all their hearts for the good world and the good things in it." Thus was 



164 BISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

established the custom of an annual thanksgiving to God for the bless- 
ings of the year, which though at first a celebration peculiar to New 
England has at length become a national festival. 

The colonists themselves were satisfied with the progress they had 
made, but their merchant partners in England were greatly displeased 
with the smallness of the profits they had received from their invest- 
ments, and in many ways made the colony feel their dissatisfaction. 
Robinson and his congregation at Leyden were anxious to join their 
friends in America, but the merchant partners refused to send them across 
the Atlantic, and not content M'ith this endeavored to force upon the 
Plymouth people a pastor friendly to the Church of England. They 
soon got rid of this individual, however, Avhose conduct quickly enabled 
them to expel him from Plymouth as an evil liver. The merchants also 
sent a ve&sel to New England to oppose the colonists in the fur-trade; 
and demanded exorbitant prices for the goods they sold the settlers, 
charging them the enormous profit of seventy per c«nt. 

It was not possible, however, to destroy the results of the industry 
and self-denial of the Pilgrims. Seeing that their association with their 
English partners would continue to operate merely as a drag upon the 
advance of the colony, they managed in 1627, at considerable sacrifice, to 
jiurchase the entire interest of their partners. The stock and the land of 
the colony were then divided equitably among the settlers, and the share 
of each man became his own private property. Each settler was thus 
made the owner of a piece of land which it was to his interest to improve 
to the highest degree possible. Freed from the burdens under which it 
had labored for so long, the colony began to increase in prosperity and in 
population. 

The government of the Pilgrims was simple, but effective. They had 
no charter, and were from the first driven upon their own resources. 
They had a governor who was chosen by the votes of all the settlers. In 
1624 a council of five was given him, and in 1633 this number was in- 
creased to seven. The council assisted the governor in the exercise of his 
duties, and imposed a check upon his authority, as in its meetings he had 
merelv a double vote. The whole number of male settlers for eighteen 
years constituted the legislative body. They met at stated times, and 
enacted such laws as were necessary for the welfare of the colony. The 
}>cople were frequently convened by the governor, in the earlier years of 
the settlement, to aid him with their advice upon difficult questions 
brought before them. When the colony increased in population, and a 
number of towns were included within its limits, each town sent repre- 
sentatives to a general court at Plymouth. 



THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 



165 



If the colony grew slowly, it grew steadily, and at length the Pilgrims 
had their reward in seeing their little settlement expand into a flourishing 
province, in which the principles of civil freedom, were cherished, religion 
honored, and industry and economy made the basis of the growing wealth 
of the little state. They had " been instruments to break the ice for 
, others ;" and " the honor shall be theirs to the world's end." Adversity 
could not daunt them, and prosperity had no power to move them from 
the sure foundation upon which they had anchored their hopes. From 
the first they had cherished the design of founding a state, which in the 




A NEW ENGLAlA) HOMESTEAD. 



hands of their children and their children's children would grow great, 
and even at this early day they began to see the realization of this hope. 
" Out of small beginnings," wrote Governor Bradford, the historian of 
the colony, almost in the spirit of prophecy, "great things have been 
produced by His hand that made all things out of nothing ; and as one 
small candle will light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shown 
to many, yea, to our whole nation." 




CHAPTER XI. 

SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS AND RHODE ISLAND. 

Settlement of New Hanipsliire — The English Puritans determine to form a new Colony in 
America — Tiie Plymouth Council — A Colony sent out to Salem under Endicott — 
Colonization of Massachusetts Bay begun — A Charter obtained — Concessions of the 
King — Progress of the Salem Colony — The Charter and Government of the Colony 
removed to New England — Arrival of Governor Winthrop — Settlement of Boston — ■ 
Sufferings of the Colonists — Roger Williams — His Opinions give offence to the 
Authorities — The Success of the Bay Colony established — Growth of Popular Liberty — 
The Ballot Box — Banishment of Roger Williams — He goes into the Wilderness — 
Founds Providence — Growth of Williams's Colony — Continued growth of Massachu- 
setts — Arrival of Sir Henry Vane — Is elected Governor — Mrs. Anne Hutchinson — The 
Antinomian Controversy — Mrs. Hutchinson banished — Settlement of Rhode Island — 
Murder of Mrs. Hutchinson. 

HE success of the Pilgrims in establishing the Plymouth colony 
aroused a feeling of deep interest in England, and some of those 
who had watched the effort were encouraged to attempt ventures 
of their own. Sir Ferdinand Gorges, who had taken a deep 
interest in the schemes to settle the new world, and John Mason, 
the secretary of the council of Plymouth, obtained a patent for the region 
called Laconia, which comprised tlie whole country between the sea, the 
St. La^vrence, the Merrimac and the Kennebec, and now embraced partly 
in Maine and partly in New Hampshire. A company of English mer- 
chants was formed, and in 1G23 permanent colonies were established at 
Portsmouth, Dover and one or two other places near the mouth of the 
Piscataqua. These were small, feeble settlements, and were more 
trading-posts than towns. For many years their growth was slow, 
and it was not until other parts of New England were well peopled and 
advanced far beyond their early trials that they began to show signs of 
prosperity. In 1653, thirty years after its settlement, Portsmouth con- 
tained only "between fifty and sixty families." The settlers of these 
towns were not all Puritans, and their colonies had not the religious 
character of those of the rest of New England. In 1641, they were 
annexed at their own request to the province of Massachusetts, the 
general court having agreed not to require the freemen and deputies to 
be church members. 
166 



SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS AlfD RHODE ISLAND. 167 

In the meantime the news of the successful planting of Plymouth was 
producing other and more important rasults in England. The persecu- 
tions of the Non-conformists, which marked the entire reign of James I., 
were continued through that of his son and successor, Charles I. The 
Puritans, sorely distressed by the tyranny to which they were subjected, 
listened with eagerness to the accounts of America which were sent over 
by the members of the Plymouth colony, and published from time to 
time in England. The descriptions of the Pilgrims were not exaggerated. 
They did not promise either fame or sudden wealth to settlers in their 
province, but clearly set forth the cares and labors which were to be the 
price of success in America. They dwelt with especial emphasis, how- 
ever, upon that which was in their eyes the chief reward of all their toil 
and suffering — the ability to exercise their religion without restraint. 
Their brethren in England heard their accounts with a longing to be 
with them to enjoy the freedom with which they were blessed, and it was 
not long before a number of English Non-conformists began to concert 
measures for making New Eng- 
land a place of refuge for the 
persecuted members of their faith. 
The leading spirit in these enter- 
prises was the Rev. Mr. White, a 
minister of Dorsetshire, a Puritan, 
but not a Separatist. Reffardins: 

•I O & COAT OF AEJIS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

the vicinity of the present town 

of Salem as the most suitable place for colonization, he exerted himself 

with energy to secure it for his brethren. 

In the meantime the Plymouth Company had ceased to exist, and its 
place had been taken by the council of Plymouth. That body cared for 
New England only as a source of profit, and sold the territory of that 
region to a number of purchasers, assigning the same district to different 
people, and thus paving the way for vexatious litigation. In 1628, it 
sold to a company of gentlemen of Dorchester, which White's energy had 
succeeded in bringing into existence, a district extending from three miles 
south of Massachusetts bay to three miles north of the Merrimac river. 
As was usual in all grants of the day, the Pacific was made tlie western 
boundary of this region. This company at once prepared to send out a 
colony, and in the early summer of that year one hundred persons under 
John Endicott, as governor, were despatched to New England. Endi- 
cott took his family Avith him, and in September, 1628, reached New 
England, and established the settlement of Salem, the site of which was 
already occupied by a few men whom White had placed there to hold it. 




168 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Endicott, who was a man of undaunted courage and acknowledged 
integrity of ciiaracter, soon established his authority over the few settle- 
ments that had sprung up along the shores of the bay. At this time the 
site of Charlestown was occupied by an Englishman named Thomas 
Walford, a blacksmith, who had fortified his cabin with a palisade. The 
only dweller on the trimountain peninsula of Shawmut was the Rev. 
William Blackstone, a clergyman of the Church of England ; the island 
now known as East Boston was occupied by Samuel Maverick. At 
Nantasket and a few places forther south some Englishmen had located 
themselves, and lived by fishing and trading in skins ; and on the site 




A PRIMITIVE NEW ENGLAND VILLAGE. 



of Quincy was the wreck of a colony Avhich had nearly perished in con- 
sequence of its evil ways. These, with the settlement at Salem, consti- 
tuted the colony of Massachusetts Bay. 

Soon after the departure of Endicott's colony from England, the 
company, acting upon the advice of their counsel, obtained from the king 
a confirmation of their grant. In March, 1629, the king granted to the 
colony of ]Massachusetts Bay a charter under which it conducted its 
affairs for more than fifty years. By the terms of tliis charter the 
governor was to be elected by the freemen for the term of one year, pro- 
vision was made for the a.ssembling at stated times of a general court, 
which was to have the power to make all the needed laws for the colony, 
and it was not necessary that these laws should receive the royal 



SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS AND RHODE ISLAND. 169 

signature in order to be valid. This was conceding practical inde- 
pendence to the colony. 

In the spring of 1629, a second company of emigrants sailed from 
England for Massachusetts. They were, like the first, all Puritans, and 
took with them, as their minister, the Rev. Francis Higginson, formerly 
of Jesus College, Cambridge, a man of learning and deep piety. The 
colonists were instructed to do no violence to the Indians. " If any of 
the salvages," so read the company's orders, " pretend right of inheritance 
to all or any part of the lands granted in our patent, endeavor to pur- 
chase their tytle, that we may avoid the least scruple of intrusion." Six 
shipwrights were sent over for the use of the colony, an experienced 
engineer to lay out a fortified town, and a master gunner, who wa*s to 
teach the men of the colony the use of arms and military exercises. 
Cattle and horses and goats were sent out also. 

The voyage was prosperous, and the new settlers reached Salem about 
the last of June. They found the settlement in a feeble condition, and 
greatly in need of their assistance. The old and the new colonists num- 
bered about three hundred. The majority of these remained at Salem, 
and the rest were sent by Endicott to establish a colony at Charlestown, 
in order to secure that place from occupation by the partisans of Sir 
Ferdinand Gorges, who claimed the region. The emigrants wer^ 
scrupulous to acquire from the Indians the right to the lands they oc- 
cupied. The 12th of July was observed as a day of fasting and prayer 
" for the choice of a pastor and teacher at Salem." No one advanced 
any claim founded on his ordination in England ; jiersonal fitness was 
the only qualification recognized by the Puritans. Sanmel Skelton Avas 
chosen pastor, and Francis Higginson teacher. Three or four of the 
gravest members of the church laid their hands upon the heads of these 
men, with prayer, and solemnly appointed them to their respective 
offices. " Thus the church, like that of Plymouth, was self-constituted, 
on the principle of the indep^^ndence of each religious community. It 
did not ask the assent of the king, or recognize him as its head ; its 
officers were set apart and ordained among themselves; it used no 
liturgy ; it rejected unnecessary ceremonies, and reduced the simplicity 
of Calvin to a still plainer standard. The motives which controlled its 
decisions were so deeply seated that its practices were repeated spon- 
taneously by Puritan New England." An opposition to the organization 
of the church was attempted by a party led by John and Samuel Browne, 
men of ability; but this was treated as a mutiny and put down, and the 
Brownes were sent back to England. 

The charter of Massachusetts, though it made liberal concessions to the 



170 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

colony, contained no provision for the rights of the people, who were left 
at the mercy of the company. For the proper government of the colony, 
it was necessary to remove the charter to Massachusetts, and such a re- 
moval was advisable on another ground. The charter contained no 
guarantee for the religious freedom of the colony, and the king might at 
any moment seek to interfere with this, the most precious right of the 
Puritans. The only way to escape the evils which the company had 
reason to dread was for the governing council to change its place of 
meeting from England to Massachusetts, which the charter gave it 
authority to do. On the 26th of August, 1629, John Winthrop, Isaac 
Johnson, Thomas Dudley, Richard Saltonstall and eight others, men of 
fortune and education, met at Cambridge and bound themselves by a 
solemn agreement to settle in New England if the whole government of 
the colony, together with the patent, should be legally transferred to that 
region before the end of September. On the 29th of the month, the 
court took the decisive step and ordered that " the government and 
patent should be settled in New England." This was a bold step, but 
its legality was not contested by any one, and it made the government 
of the colony independent of control by any power in England. 

The officers of the colony were to be a governor and eighteen assist- 
ants. On the 20th of October, a meeting of the court was held to choose 
them, and John Winthrop was elected governor for one year. It was a 
fortunate selection, for Winthrop proved himself for many years the 
very mainstay of the colony, sustaining his companions by his calm 
courage, and setting them a noble example in his patieflce, his quiet 
heroism and his devotion to the welfare of others. He seemed to find 
his greatest pleasure in doing good, and his liberality acted as a check 
upon the bigotry of his associates and kept them in paths of greater 
moderation. 

Etibrts were made to send over new settlers to Massachusetts, and 
about a thousand emigrants, with cattle, "liorses and goats, were trans- 
ported thither in the season of 1630. Early in April, Governor Win- 
throp and about seven hundred emigrants sailed from England in a fleet 
of eleven ships. Many of them were " men of high endowments and 
large fortune ; scholars, well versed in the learning of the times ; clergy- 
men who ranked among the best educated and most pious in the realm." 
They reached Salem on the 12th of June, after a voyage of sixty-one 
days, and were gladly welcomed by the settlers, whom they found in 
great distress from sickness and a scarcity of provisions. About eighty 
had died during the winter, and many were sick. There was scarcely 
a fortnight's supply of food in the settlement, and it was necessary 



SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS AND RHODE ISLAND. 171 

to send one of the ships back to England at once for a supply of 
provisions. 

Salem did not please the new-comers, and settlements were made at 
Lynn, Charlestown, Newtown, Dorchester, Roxbury, Maiden, and Water- 
town. The governor and a large part of the emigrants settled first at 
Charlestown, but at length, in order to obtain better water, crossed over 
and occupied the little tri-mountain peninsula of Shawmut. To this 
settlement was given the name of Boston, in honor of the town in Lin- 
colnshire in England, which had been the home of the Rev. John Wilson, 
who became the pastor of the first church of Boston. The location was 
central to the whole province, and Boston became the seat of government. 
When the year for which the first colonial officers had been chosen ex- 
pired a new election was held, and Governor Winthrop and all the old 
officials were reelected. 

The colonists now began to feel the effects of their new life. The 
change of climate was very trying to them, and many of them fell 
victims to its rigors, and to the hardships of their position. A large 
number of them had been brought up in ease and refinement, and were 
unaccustomed to privation or exposure. They sank beneath the severe 
trials to which they Avere subjected. By December, 1630, at least two 
hundred had died. Among these were the Lady Arbella Johnson and her 
husband, among the most liberal and devoted supporters of the colony, 
and a son of Governor Winthrop, who left a widow and children in 
England. Others became disheartened, and more than a hundred re- 
turned to England, where they endeavored to excuse their desertion of 
their companions by grossly exaggerated accounts of the hardships of 
the colony. Yet among the colonists themselves there was no repining. 
They exhibited in their deep distress a fortitude and heroism worthy of 
their lofty character. " Honor is due," says Bancroft, " not less to those 
who perished than to those who survived ; to the martyrs the hour of 
death was the hour of triumph ; such as is never witnessed in more 

tranquil seasons Even children caught the spirit of the place ; 

awaited the impending change in the tranquil confidence of faith, and 
went to the grave full of immortality. The survivors bore all things 
meekly, ' remembering the end of their coming hither.' " Winthrop 
wrote to his wife, who had been detained in England by sickness : " We 
enjoy here God and Jesus Christ, and is not this enough ? I thank God 
I like so well to be here, as I do not repent my coming. I would not 
have altered my course though I had foreseen all these afflictions. I 
never had more content of mind." 

Another danger which threatened the colony arose from the scarcity of 



172 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

provisions, but this was removed on the 5th of February, 1631, by the 
timely arrival of the "Lyon" from England, laden with provisions. 
This relief was greeted with public thanksgivings in all the settlements. 
The " Lyon," however, brought only twenty passengers, and in 1631 only 
ninety persons came out from England. The number of arrivals in 1632 
was only two hundred and fifty. Thus the colony grew very slowly. 
By the close of the latter -year the total population of Massachusetts was 
only a little over one thousand souls. 

Among the passengers of the "Lyon" was a young minister, described 
in the old records as " lovely in his carriage, godly and zealous, having 
precious gifts," Roger Williams by name. He had been a favorite pupil 
of the great Sir Edward Coke, and had learned from him precious lessons 
of liberty and toleration. He had been carefully educated at Pembroke 
College, in the University of Cambridge, and had entered the ministry. 

His opposition to the laws requiring conformity 
to the established church had drawn upon him 
the wrath of Archbishop Laud, and he had 
been driven out of England. The o;reat doc- 
trine which he had embraced as the result of 
his studies and experience was the freedom of 
conscience from secular control. " The civil 
magistrate should restrain crime, but never 
control opinion ; should punish guilt, but never 
violate inward freedom." He would place all 
forms of religion u2)on an equality, and Avould 
KOGER WILLIAMS rcfusc to tlic govcmment the power to compel 

conformity to, or attendance upon, any of them, 
leaving such matters to the conscience of the individual. He also favored 
the abolition of tithes, and the enforced contribution to the support of 
the church. Such views \vere far in advance of the age, and when Wil- 
liams landed in Boston, he found himself unable to join the church in 
that place because of its adoption of principles the opposite of his own. 
Upon his arrival the church had intended engaging him to fill IMr. Wil- 
son's })lacc, while that minister returned to England to bring over his 
wife, but upon learning his views the idea was abandoned. A little later 
the church in Salem, which had been deprived of its teacher by the death 
of the Rev. Francis Iligginson, called Williams to be his successor. 
Williams accepted the call ; but Governor Winthrop and the assistants 
warned the people of Salem to beware how they placed in so important a 
position a man already at such variance with the established order of 
things. The warning had the desiretl effect upon the people of Salem, 




SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS AND RHODE ISLAND. 173 

who withdrew their invitation. Williams then went to Plymouth, where 
he lived for two years in peace. 

But though unwilling to accord to Williams the liberty he desired, the 
colonial government was careful to take every precaution against the 
anticipated efforts of the Church of England to extend its authority over 
Massachusetts. A general court held in May, 1631, ordered an oath of 
fidelity to be tendered to the freemen of the colony, which bound them 
" to be obedient and conformable to the laws and constitutions of this 
commonwealth, to advance its peace, and not to suffer any attempt at 
making any change or alteration of the government contrary to its laws." 
The same general court took a still more decided stand by the adoption 
of a law, which limited the citizenship of the colony to " such as are 
members of some of the churches within the limits of the same." This 
was practically making the state a theocracy. 

Yet the people were not prepared to surrender their political rights, 
even when alarmed by the danger which seemed to threaten their 
religious establishment. Until now the assistants could hold office for 
life, and they also possessed the power of electing the governor. They 
were thus independent of the people. The right of the freemen to 
choose their magistrates was now distinctly asserted, and in JNIay, 1632, 
was conceded. The governor and assistants were to be elected annually, 
and by the votes of the freemen ; none but church-members being entitled 
to the privileges of freemen. Another important change was brought 
about at the same time by the hostility of the people to levying of taxes 
by the board of assistants. Each town was ordered to send two of its 
best men to represent it at a general court " to concert a plan for a public 
treasury." This was the foundation of representative government in 
Massachusetts. 

The colonists had faithfully obeyed their instructions to treat the 
Indians with fairness, and to seek to cultivate their friendship. Many of 
the native tribes sought their alliance, and the sachem of the Mohegans 
came from the banks of the Connecticut to make a treaty with the colony, 
and to urge the English to settle in his country, which he described as 
exceedingly fertile and inviting. In the autumn of 1632 a pleasant in- 
tercourse was opened with the Plymouth colony ; and in the same year a 
trade in corn was begun with Virginia, and commercial relations were 
established with the Dutch, who had settled along the Hudson river. 
The colony of Massachusetts Bay was slowly emerging from its early 
trials, and entering upon a more prosperous period. 

Emigrants now began to come over in greater numbers, and among 
them were John Haynes, " the acute and subtile Cotton," and Thomas 



174 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Hooker, who has been called the "Light of the "Western Churches." 
The freemen by the middle of the year 1634 numbered between three 
and four hundred, and these were bent upon establishing their political 
power 111 the state. Great advances were made in the direction of repre- 
sentative government, and the ballot-box was introduced in elections 
which had been formerly conducted by an erection of hands. As a guard 
against arbitrary taxation by magistrates it was enacted that none but 
the properly chosen representatives of the people might dispose of lands, 
or raise money. In the spring of 1635 the people went a step further, 
and demanded a written constitution for the purpose of still more per- 
fectly securing their liberties. This demand opened a controversy which 
continued for ten years. The general court was composed of assistants 
and deputies. The first were elected by the people of the whole colony ; 
the latter by the towns. The two bodies acted together in meetings of 
the assembly, but the assistants claimed the exclusive privilege of meet- 
ing and exercising a separate negative upon the proceedings of the court. 
This claim was energetically denied by the deputies, M^ho were sustained 
by the body of the people; while the magistrates and the ministers up- 
held the pretensions of the assistants. In 1644 the matter was compro- 
mised by the division of the general court into two branches, each of 
which was given a negative upon the proceedings of the other. All 
jiarties were agreed, however, in the work of connecting the religion and 
the government of the colony so closely that they should mutually sustain 
each other against the attacks of the Church of England. 

AA'hile these measures were in course of adjustment other matters were 
engaging the attention of the colony. After Roger AVilliams had been a 
little more than two years in Plymouth, he was called again to Salem, 
and accepted the invitation. This gave offence to many 2:)ersons, and in 
January, 1634, complaints were made against Williams Jjecause of a 
pa])er he had written while at Plymouth, denying that the king had any 
power to grant lands in America to his subjects, since the lands were the 
property of the Indians. In this Williams was wrong, as the settlers in 
Kew England had been careful to obtain the consent of the natives to 
their occupation of the lands they had possessed. He made a proper 
explanation of his paper, when he understood the true state of the case, 
and consented that it should be burned. 

Still the jealousy and dislike of the Puritans was aroused by the radical 
opposition of Williams to their system, although he conducted himself 
with a forbearance and amiableness that should have won him the love 
of those with whom he was thrown. Williams strongly condemned the 
law enforcing the attendance of the people upon religious services, de- 



SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS AND RHODE ISLAND. 175 

daring that a man had a right to stay away if he wished to do so. He 
also censured the practice of selecting the colonial officials exclusively 
from .the members of the church, and said that a physician or a pilot 
might with equal propriety be chosen because of his piety, his skill in 
theology, or his standing in the church. These and other similar views 
were drawn from him in a series of controversies, held with him by a 
committee of ministers, for the purpose of inducing him to retract his 
radical sentiments. He remained firm in them, however, and his oppo- 
nents declared that his principles were calculated not only to destroy 
religion, but also to subvert all forms of civil government. It was 
resolved to banish him from the colony, and as the people of Salem 
warmly supported Williams, they were admonished by the court, and a 
tract of land, which was rightfully theirs, was withheld from them as a 
punishment. Williams and the church at Salem appealed to the people 
against the injustice of the magistrates, and asked the other churches of 
the colony to " admonish the magistrates of their injustice." This was 
regarded as treason by the colonial 
government, and at the next gen- 
eral court Salem was disfranchised ^_ 
until the town should make ample ^3 
apology for its offence. Williams 
was summoned before the general 
court in October, 1635, and main- 
tained his opinions with firmness, 
though with moderation. He was sentenced to banishment from the 
colony, not, as it was declared, because of his religious views, but because 
the magistrates averred his principles, if carried out, would destroy all 
civil government. 

The season was so far advanced that it would have been barbarous to 
drive any one out of the colony at that time, and Williams obtained 
leave to remain in the province until the spring, when he intended form- 
ing a settlement on Narragansett bay. The affection of his people at 
Salem, which had seemed to grow cold when the toM^n began to feel the 
weight of the punishment inflicted by the general court, now revived, 
and they thronged to his house in great numbers to hear him, and his 
opinions spread rapidly. The magistrates were alarmed; and it was 
resolved to send him at once to England in a ship that was just about to 
sail from Boston. He was ordered to come to Boston and embark there, 
but refused to obey the summons. A boat's crew was then sent to arrest 
him and bring him to Boston by force; but when the officers reached 
Salem he had disappeared. 




COAT or ARMS OF RHODE ISLAJfD. 



176 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Three days before their arrival Roger \Yilliams had left Salem, a wan- 
derer for conscience sake. It was the depth of winter, the snow lay 
thickly over the country, and the weather was cold and inclement. For 
fourteen weeks, he says, he " was sorely tost in a bitter season, not know- 
ing what bread or bed did mean." Banished from the settlements of his 
own race the exile went out into the wilderness, and sought the country 
of the Indians, whose friendship he had won during his stay in the 
colony. He had acquired their language during his residence at Ply- 
mouth, and could speak it fluently. He went from lodge to lodge, kindly 




LANDING OF ROGER WILLIAMS AT PROVIDENCE. 



welcomed by the savages, and lodging sometimes in a hollow tree, until 
he reached Mount Hope, the residence of Massasoit, who was his friend. 
Canonicus, the great chieftain of the Narragansetts, loved him with a 
strong aifcction, which ceased only with his life ; and in the country of 
these friendly cliiefs Williams passed the winter in peace and safety. He 
never ceased to be grateful for their aid in his distress, and during his 
whole life he was the especial friend and champion of the Indians in Xew 
Engh\nd. 

It was the intention of Williams to settle at Seekonk, on the Paw- 
tucket river ; but that place was found to be within the limits of the 
Plymouth colony. Governor Winslow wrote to Williams advising him 
to remove to the region of Narragansett bay, which was beyond the juris- 
diction of the English, and would render any misunderstanding between 



SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS AND RHODE ISLAND. 177 

the Plymouth and Bay colonies on his account impossible. " I took his 
prudent motion," says Williams, " as a voice from God." Being joined 
by five companions, Williams embarked in a canoe in June, 1635, and 
passing o\'cr to the west arm of Narragansett bay, landed at an attractive 
spot, where he found a spring of pure water. He chose the place as the 
site of a new settlement, and in gratitude for his deliverance from the 
many dangers through which he had passed, named it Providence. 
He sought to purchase enough land for a settlement, but Cauonicus 
refused to sell the land, and gave it to his friend " to enjoy forever." 
This grant was made to Williams alone, and constituted him absolute 
owner of the lands included in it. He might have sold them to settlers 
on terms advantageous to himself; but he declined to do so. In the next 
two years he was joined by a number of his old followers from Massa- 
chusetts, and by others who fled to his asylum. He gave a share of land 
to all who came to settle, and admitted them to an equality with himself 
in the political administration of the colony. The government was 
administered by the whole people. The voice of the majority decided all 
public measures ; but in matters of conscience every man was left answer- 
able to God alone. All forms of religious belief were tolerated and 
protected. Even infidelity was safe here from punishment by the civil 
or ecclesiastical power. Williams was anxious to establish friendly rela- 
tions with the Massachusetts colony ; for though he felt keenly the 
injustice of .his persecutors, he cherished no bitterness or resentment 
towards them. He condemned only what he considered the delusions of 
the magistrates of Massachusetts, but never attacked his persecutors. "I 
did ever from my soul," he wrote with simple magnanimity, " honor and 
love them, even when their judgment led them to afflict me." Winslow, 
touched with his true Christian forbearance, came from Plymouth to 
visit him, and left with his wife some money for their support ; and some 
of the leaders of the Bay colony began to bear tardy witness to his virtues. 
The settlement at Providence continued to grow slowly, and was blessed 
with peace and an increasing prosperity. 

Massachusetts in the meantime continued to receive numerous addi- 
tions to her population by emigration from England. In the autumn of 
1635, twelve families left Boston, and journeying into the interior, 
founded the town of Concord. They had a hard struggle to establish 
their little settlement, but persevered, and at length their labors were 
crowned with success. Three thousand people came over to Massachu- 
setts this year. Among them were Hugh Peters, a man of great eloquence 
and ability and a devoted republican, who had been pastor to a church 
of exiles at Rotterdam, and Henry Vane the younger, " a man of the 
12 



178 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

purest mind ; a statesman of spotless integrity ; whose name the progress 
of intelligence and liberty will erase from the rubric of fanatics and 
traitors, and insert high among the aspirants after truth and the martyrs 
for liberty." * 

111 the following spring (1636) Vane was elected governor of the 
colony. The people were dazzled by his high birth and pleasing qual- 
ities, and committed an error in choosing him, for neither his age nor his 
experience fitted him for the distinguished position conferred upon him. 
The arrival of Vane seemed to promise an emigration of a number of the 
English nobility, and an effort was made by several of them in England 
to procure the division of the general court into two branches, and the 
establishment of an hereditary nobility in the colony which should 
possess a right to seats in the upper branch of the court. The magis- 
trates of the colony were anxious to conciliate these valuable friends, but 
they firmly refused to establish hereditary nobility in their new state. 

Religious discussions formed a large part of the life of the colony. 
Meetings were held by the men, and passages of Scripture were discussed, 
and the sermons of the ministers made the subject of searching criticism. 
The women might attend these meetings, but were not allowed to take 
part in the discussions. Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, a woman of talent and 
eloquence, claimed for her sex the right to participate equally with the 
men in these meetings ; but as this was not possible, she began to hold 
meetings for the benefit of the women at her own house. At these 
religious doctrines were discussed and advocated which were at variance 
with the principles of the magistrates. Mrs. Hutchinson and her 
followers held that the authority of private judgment was superior to 
that of the church, and condemned the efforts of the colony to enforce 
conformity to the established system as violative of the inherent rights of 
Christians. She was encouraged by John Wheelwright, a silenced minister, 
who had married her sister, and by Governor Vane, and her opinions 
were adopted by a large number of the people, and by members of the 
general court and some of the magistrates. 

The ministers saw their authority menaced by the new belief, and 
made common cause against ^Mrs. Hutchinson and her protector. Governor 
Vane. The colony was divided into two parties, and the religious ques- 
tion became a matter of great political importance. Under the established 
system the ministers formed almost a distinct estate of the government, 
and political privileges were entirely dependent upon theological con- 
formity. The success of Mrs. Hutchinson's views would revolutionize 
the government and destroy the power of the church to control secular 

* Bancroft. 



SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS AND RHODE ISLAND. 179 

affairs. Such a change was not yet to be attempted. Governor Vane 
was too far in advance of the age, and Mrs. Hutchinson was denounced 
as " weakening the hands and hearts of the people towards the ministers/' 
and as being as bad " as Roger Williams, or worse." Some went so far 
as to hint that she was a witch. Feeling sure that they would not 
receive justice at the hands of their opponents, the friends of Mrs. 
Hutchinson declared their intention to appeal to the king. This aroused 
a storm of indignation in the colony, and " it was accounted perjury and 
treason to speak of appeals to the king." This threat changed the whole 
character of the question, and was fatal to the party which made it. The 
Puritans had come to Massachusetts to escape the interference of the 
crown with their religious belief, and to appeal to the king in this case 
would be simply to place the liberties of the colony at his mercy. When 
the elections were held, in the spring of 1637, Governor Winthrop and 
the old magistrates were chosen by a large majority. Vane soon after 
returned to England. 

The church party being now in power resolved to silence Mrs. Hutch- 
inson. She was admonished to cease her teachings, and upon her refusal 
to obey this order, she and her followers were exiled from the colony. 
Wheelwright and a number of his friends went to New Hampshire, and 
founded the town -of Exeter, at the head of tide- water on the Piscataqua. 
Mrs. Hutchinson and the majority of her followers removed, in the 
spring of 1638, to the southward, intending to settle on Long Island or 
on the Delaware. Roger Williams induced them to remain near his 
plantation, and obtained for them from Miantonomoh, the chief of the 
Narragansett tribe, the gift of the beautiful island in the lower part of 
Narragansett bay, which they called the island of Rhodes, or Rhode 
Island. The number of settlers was scarcely more than twenty, but they 
proceeded to form a government upon a plan agreeable to the principles 
they professed. It was a pure democracy, founded upon the universal 
consent of the people, who signed a social compact pledging themselves 
to obey the laws made by the majority, and to respect the rights of con- 
science. William Coddington, who had been a magistrate in the Bay 
colony, was elected judge or ruler, and three elders were chosen as his 
assistants. The settlement grew rapidly, and by 1641 the population 
had become so numerous as to require a written constitution. 

Mrs. Hutchinson remained in Rhode Island for several years; but 
fearing that the hostility of the magistrates of Massachusetts would reach 
her even there, removed beyond New Haven into the territory of the 
Dutch, where, in 1643, she and all her family who were with her, except 
one child, who was taken prisoner, were murdered by the Indians. 




CHAPTER XII. 

COLONIZATION OF CONNECTICUT. 

The Dutch Claim the Connecticut Valley— They build a Fort at Hartford— Governor 
Winslow makes a Lodgment in Connecticut for the English — Withdrawal of the Dutch 
— The First Eflbrts of the English to Settle Connecticut — Emigration of Hooker and his 
Congregation— They Settle at Hartford — Winthrop builds a Fort at Saybrooke — Hos- 
tility of the Indians — Visit of Koger Williams to Miantonoraoh — A Brave Deed — The 
Pequod War— Capture of the Indian Fort — Destruction of the Pequod Tribe — Effect of 
this War upon the other Tribes — Connecticut Adopts a Constitution — Its Peculiar 
Features — Settlement of New Haven. 

HE fertile region of the Connecticut had attracted the attention of 
the English at an early day ; but before they could make any 
effort to occupy it the Dutch sent an exploring party from Man- 
hattan island, in 1614, and examined the river and the country 
through which it flowed. They built and fortified a trading- 
post on the site of the present city of Hartford, but soon excited the ill- 
yr'iW of the Indians by their cruel treatment of them. The Dutch found 
themselves unable to occupy the country, and being unwilling to lose it, 
endeavored, but without success, to induce the Pilgrims to remove from 
Plymouth to the Connecticut, and settle in that region under their pro- 
tection. 

In 1630, the council of Plymouth granted the Connecticut region to 
the Earl of Warwick, who, in 1631, assigned his claim to Lords Say and 
Brooke, John Hampden, and others. As soon as this grant was known 
to the Dutch they sent a party to the site of Hartford and re-established 
their trading-post, and began a profitable trade with the Indians. They 
mounted two cannon on their fort for the purpose of preventing the 
English from ascending the river. Towards the latter part of the year 
1633, Governor Winslow, of Plymouth, in order to secure a foothold for 
the English in this valuable region, sent Captain William Holmes to the 
Connecticut with a sloop and a number of men to make a settlement. 
Upon ascending the river to the site of Hartford, Holmes found his 
progress barred by the Dutch fort, the commander of which threatened 
to fire upon him if he attempted to continue his voyage. Undainitcd by 
this threat, Holmes passed by the fort without harm, and ascended the 
180 



COLONIZATION OF CONNECTICUT. IgJ 

stream to Windsor, where he erected a fortified post. In 1634, the 
Dutch made an unsuccessful attempt to drive him away. Failing in 
this, and seeing that it was the deliberate purpose of the English to 
occupy the Connecticut valley, the Dutch relinquished all claim to that 
region, and a boundary line was arranged between their possessions and 
those of the English, corresponding very nearly to that between the 
States of Connecticut and New York. 

In 1635, the Pilgrims determined to make settlements in this inviting 
region, and late in the fall of that year a company of sixty persons, men, 
women, and children, set out from Plymouth by land, sending a sloop 
laden with provisions and their household goods around by sea, with 
orders to join them upon the Connecticut river. They began their 
journey too late in the season, and their sufferings were very great in 
consequence. Upon reaching the river they found the ground covered 
with snow, and their sloop was delayed by storms and ice. Their cattle 
died from cold and exposure, and but for a little corn which they 
obtained from the Indians, and 
such acorns as they could gather, 
the whole company must have 
starved to death. Many of them 
abandoned their new home and 
returned by land to the settlements 
on the coast. 

_-, -I-, . 11 COAT OF ARMS OF CONNECTICUT. 

Ihe Puritans were resolved to 
continue the effort to settle Connecticut, and in the spring of 1636 several 
companies emigrated to that region. The principal party set out in 
June, led by the Rev. Thomas Hooker. It comprised about one hun- 
dred persons, and consisted principally of Hooker's congregation, who 
followed their pastor with enthusiasm. They drove before them a 
considerable number of cattle, which furnished them with milk on the 
march. The emigrants were largely made up of persons of refinement 
and culture, and comprised many of the oldest and most valued citizens 
of the Bay colony. They were attracted to the valley of the Connecticut 
by the superior advantages which it offered for the prosecution of the fur 
trade, and by the great fertility of its soil. They had no guide but a 
compass, and their route lay through an unbroken wilderness. The 
journey was long and fatiguing. The emigrants accomplished scarcely 
more than ten miles a day, carrying their sick on litters, and making the 
forests ring with their holy hymns. At length the site of Hartford, where 
it was proposed to establish the settlement, was reached by the 1st of 
July. The greater number remained there ; some went higher up the 




182 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

river and founded Springfield, and the rest went to AYethersfield, where 
there was already a small settlement. 

In the same year the younger John AVinthrop arrived from England, 
with orders from Lords Say and Brooke to establish a fort at the mouth 
of the Connecticut river. This he accomplished, naming the new settle- 
ment Saybrooke in honor of the proprietors. The settlements in Connect- 
icut grew rapidly, the excellent soil and pleasant climate attracting 
many emigrants to them. 

The existence of these settlements was precarious, however. The 
region in which they had been planted was the country of the Pequods, 
who inhabited it in large numbers. They were the most powerful and 
warlike tribe in New England, and could bring nearly two thousand 
warriors into the field. They occupied the southeastern part of Connect- 
icut, and their territory extended almost to the Hudson on the west, 
where it joined that of the Mohegaus. On the east their territory 
bordered that of the Narragansetts. Both of these tribes were the 
enemies of the Pequods and the friends of the English. This friendship 
was resented by the Pequods, who were already jealous of the English 
because of their occupation of the lands along the Connecticut. The 
tribe bore a bad name, and had already manifested their hostility by 
murdering, a few years before, a Virginia trader named Stone, together 
with tl>e crew of his vessel, who were engaged in a trading expedition on 
the Connecticut river. Somewhat later Captain Oldham and his crew, 
while exploring the river, were also murdered by Indians living on Block 
island. The Pequods justified the murder of Stone by alleging that he 
liad attacked them. Wishing to make a treaty with the English, they 
sent their chiefs to Boston for that purpose, and promised — as the magis- 
trates understood them — ^to deliver up the two men who had killed Stone. 
Captain John Endicott was sent with a vessel, in 1636, to punish the 
Block Island Indians for the murder of Oldham, and was ordered to call 
on his return at the Pequod town, and demand the surrender of the 
murderers of Stone. The Pequods declined to surrender these men, but 
offered to ransom them. This was in accordance with their customs. 
But Endicott refused to accept any compensation for the crime that had 
been committed, and to punish the Indians destroyed their corn and 
burned two of their villages. This made open hostilities inevitable. The 
Pequods began to hang around the Connecticut settlements and cut off 
stragglers from them. By the close of the winter more than thirty 
persons had fallen victims to their vengeance. 

The settlements in the Connecticut valley Avere now greatly alarmed. 
They could not muster over two hundred fighting men, and the Indians 



COLONIZATION OF CONNECTICUT. 183 

in their immediate vicinity could bring into the field at least seven hun- 
dred warriors. War was certain, and it was not known at what moment 
the savages would attack the settlements in overwhelming force. Con- 
necticut called upon Massachusetts for aid, but only twenty men, under 
Captain Underbill, were sent to their aid. The energies and attention 
of the Bay colony were engrossed by the Hutchinson quarrel. 

The Pequods, notNvithstanding their immense numerical superiority, 
were unwilling to make war upon the English without the support of 
another tribe. They accordingly sent envoys to Miantonomoh, the chief 
of the Narragansetts, to endeavor to engage that tribe in the effort 
against the whites. Such a union would have menaced all New 
England, and as soon as the news of the negotiation reached Boston the 
government of the Buy colony prepared to prevent the alliance. Governor 
Yane at once wrote to Eoger Williams, the friend of Miantonomoh, 
urging him to seek that chieftain and prevent him from joining the 
Pequods. It was a dangerous mission, and certainly a great service for 
the magistrates of Massachusetts to ask of the man whom they had 
driven into exile. They did not ask in vain, however. All of Williams' 
generous nature was aroused by the danger which threatened his brethren, 
and he embarked in a frail canoe, and braving the danger of a severe 
gale, sought the quarters of Miantonomoh. He found the Pequod chiefs 
already there, and the Narragansetts wavering. Knowing the errand on 
which he had come, the hostile chieftains were ready at any moment to 
despatch him, and had Miantonomoh shown the least favor to the project, 
Williams would have paid for his boldness with his life. He spent three 
days and nights in the company of the savages, and succeeded in inducing 
Miantonomoh not only to refuse to join the war against the English, but 
to promise the colonists his assistance against the Pequods. In the 
meantime he sent a messenger to Boston to inform the governor of the 
designs of the Indians. 

The Pequods, left to continue the struggle alone, flattered themselves 
that their superiority in numbers would give them Ihe victory, and con- 
tinued their aggressions upon the Connecticut settlements to such an 
extent that in May, 1637, the general court of that province resolved to 
begin the war at once. A force of eighty men, including those sent 
from Massachusetts, was assembled at Hartford, and the command was 
conferred by Hooker upon Captain John Mason. The night previous to 
their departure was spent in prayer, and on the 20th of May the little 
force embarked in boats and descended the river to the sound, and 
passed around to Narragansett bay, intending to approach the Pequod 
town from that quarter. As the boats sailed by the mouth of the 



18-4 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Thames, the savages supposed the English were abandoning the Con- 
necticut valley. 

The day after the arrival of the English in Narragansett bay was the 
Sabbath, and was scrupulously observed. On the following day they 
repaired to the quartei's of Canonicus, the old chief and principal ruler 
of the Narragansett tribe, and asked his assistance against the Pequods. 
Miantonomoh, the nephew and prospective successor of Canonicus, hesi- 
tated to join in the doubtful enterprise, but two hundred warriors agreed 
to accompany the English, who could not, however, count upon the 
fidelity of these reinforcements. Seventy Mohegans, under Uncas, their 
chief, also joined Mason. With this force the English commander 
marched across the country toward the Pequod towns on the Thames, 
and halted on the night of the 25th of May, within hearing of them. 

In the meantime the Pequods, convinced that the English had fled 
from the Connecticut region, and never dreading an attack in their fort, 
which they considered impregnable, had given themselves up to rejoicing. 
The night, passed by the English in waiting the signal for the attack, 
was spent by the Pequods in revelry and songs, M'hich could be plainly 
heard in the English camp. Two hours before dawn, on the morning 
of the 26th of May, the order was given to the little band under Mason 
to advance. They knew they would have to decide the battle by their 
own efforts, and were by no means certain that their Indian allies would 
not turn against them. The Pequods were posted in two strong forts 
made of palisades driven into the ground and strengthened with rush- 
work, an excellent defence against a foe of their own race, but worthless 
when assailed by Europeans. The principal fort stood on the summit 
of a considerable hill, and was regarded by Sassacus, the Pequod chief, 
as impregnable. The tramp of the advancing force aroused a dog, whose 
fierce bark awoke the Indian sentinel. The keen eye of the savage 
detected the enemy in the gloom of the morning, and he rushed into the 
fort, shouting, " The English ! the English ! " The next moment the 
English were through the palisades. On all sides they beheld the 
Indians pouring out of their lodges to take part in the hand-to-hand 
fight. The odds were too great. " We must burn them," cried Mason, 
and, suiting the action to the word, he applied a torch to a wigwam con- 
struoted of dry reeds. The flames sprang up instantly and spread with 
the rapidity of lightning. The Indians vainly endeavored to extinguish 
the fire, and the English, withdrawing to a greater distance, began to 
pick off the savages, who were doubly exposed by the light of the blazing 
fort. Wherever a Pequod appeared, he was shot down. The Narragan- 
setts and Mohegans now joined in the conflict, and the victory was 



COLONIZATION OF CONNECTICUT. 



185 



complete. More than six hundred Pequods, men, women and children, 
perished, the majority of them in the flames. The English lost only two 
men ; and the battle was over in an hour. 

As the sun rose, a body of three hundred Pequod warriors were seen 
advancing from their second fort. They came expecting to rejoice with 
their comrades in the destruction of the English. When they beheld 
the ruined fort and the remains of its defenders, they screamed, stamped 
on the ground and tore their hair with rage and despair. Mason held 




YALE COLLEGE. 



them in check with twenty men, while the rest of the English embarked 
in their boats, which had come round from Narragansett bay, and 
hastened home to protect the settlements against a sudden attack. 
Mason, with the party mentioned, marched across the country to the fort 
at Saybrooke, where he was received with the honors due to his success- 
ful exploit. 

In a few days a body of one hundred men arrived from Massachusetts, 
under Captain Stoughton, and the campaign against the Pequods was 



186 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

resumed. Their pride was crushed, and they raade but a feeble resist- 
ance. They fled to the west, closely j)ursued by the English, who 
destroyed their corn-fields, burned their villages and put their w^omen 
and children to death without mercy. They made a last desperate eifort 
at resistance in the fastnesses of a swamp, but were defeated with great 
slaughter. Sassacus, their chief, with a few of his men took refuge with 
the Mohawks, where he was soon after put to death by one of his own 
people. The remainder of the tribe, about two hundred in number, 
surrendered to the English, and were reduced to slavery. Some were 
given to their enemies, the Narragansetts and Mohegaus ; others were 
sent to the West Indies and sold as slaves. The Pequod nation was 
utterly destroyed. 

The thoroughness and remorselessness of the M'ork struck terror to the 
neighboring tribes. If the Pequods, the most powerful of all their race, 
had been exterminated by a mere handful of Englishmen, what could 
they expect in a contest with them but a similar fate ? For forty years 
the horror of this fearful deed remained fresh in the savage mind, and 
protected the young settlements more effectually than the most vigilant 
watchfulness on the part of the whites could have done. 

Relieved from the fear of the Indians, the people of Connecticut pre- 
pared to establish a civil government for the colony, and in January, 
1639, a constitution was adopted. It was more liberal, and therefore 
more lasting, than that framed by any of the other colonies. It pro- 
vided for the government of the colony by a governor, a legislature and 
the usual magistrates of an English province, who were to be chosen 
annually by ballot. Every settler who should take the oath of allegiance 
to the commonwealth was to have the right of suffrage. The members 
of tlie legislature were apportioned among the towns according to the 
population. The colony was held to be supreme within its own limits, 
and no recognition was raade of the sovereignty of the king or Parlia- 
ment, When Connecticut took her place among tlie States of the 
American Union, at the opening of the war of the Revolution, her con- 
stitution needed no change to adapt her to her new position. It remained 
in force for one hundred and fifty years. 

In the year of the Pequod war (1637), John Davenport, a celebrated 
clergyman of London, and Theophilus Eaton, a merchant of wealth, and 
a number of tlieir associates, mIio had been exiled from England for 
their religious opinions, reached Boston. They Avere warmly welcomed, 
and were urged to stay in the Bay colony, but the theological disputes 
were so high there that they preferred to go into the wilderness and 
found a settlement where they could be at peace. Eaton with a few men 



COLONIZATION OF CONNECTICUT. 



187 



was sent to explore the region west of the Connecticut, which had been 
discovered by the pursuers of the Pequods. He examined the coast of 
Long Island sound, and spent the winter at a place which he selected as 
a settlement. In April, 1638, Davenport and the rest of the company- 
sailed from Boston and established a settlement on the spot chosen by- 
Eaton. The settlers obtained a title to their lands from the natives, and 
agreed in return to protect them against the Mohawks. They named 
their settlement New Haven. In 1639, a form of government was 
adopted, and Eaton was elected governor. He was annually chosen to 




VALLEY OF THE CONNECTICUT. 

this position until his death, twenty years later. The colonists pledged 
themselves " to be governed in all things by the rules which the Scrip- 
tures held forth to them." The right of suffrage was restricted to 
church members. " Thus New Haven made the Bible its statute book, 
and the elect its freemen." In the next ten years settlements spread 
along the sound and extended to the opposite shores of Long island. 
The colony was distinct from and independent of the Connecticut colony, 
with which friendly relations were soon established. 




CHAPTER XIII. 

THE UNION OF THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES. 

Feeling of the Colonies towards England — Hostility of the English Government to New 
England — Eflbrts to Introduce Episcopacy — Massachusetts Threatens Resistance — The 
Revolution in England — Establishment of Free Schools in New England — Harvard 
College — The Printing Press — The Long Parliament Friendly to New England — The 
United Colonies of New England — Rhode Island Obtains a Charter — Maine Annexed 
to Massachusetts — The Quakers are Persecuted — Efforts to Christianize the Indians — 
John Eliot, the Apostle to the Indians. 

HE sentiments with which the people of the New England colonies 
regarded the mother country may be briefly stated. They were 
proud of the name of Englishmen, and took a deep interest in 
the welfare of their old home. They regarded the British con- 
stitution as the supreme law of their new states, and claimed to 
be true and loyal subjects of the King of England. Nevertheless, they 
looked upon the success of their colonies as their own work, accomplished 
by their own patience and heroism, and they were fully aware that they 
owed nothing to the mother country. They had been driven forth from 
her shores by jjersecution, and left in neglect to struggle up to the suc- 
cessful position they now occupied. They owed nothing to England ; in 
their deepest distress they had never asked aid of'hcr, and they were 
willing to undergo any hardship rather than do so. They had made laws 
and established institutions under which they had surmounted their' early 
trials, and they regarded their paramount allegiance as due to their 
respective provinces. They acknowledged the right of no power beyond 
the Atlantic to interfere with or change their work. They would 
acknowledge their allegiance to the king as long as he respected the 
system they had built up at such great cost, and without assistance from 
him, but would resist any effort from him, or any one else, to interfere 
with it. They had made New England what she was, and they meant to 
retain the possession and control of their new home at any cost. They 
had made themselves a free people, and they meant to preserve their 
liberties as a precious heritage for their children. 

This was the general sentiment of New England. There were some 
discontented persons, however, in the midst of these determined people. 
188 



THE UNION OF THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES. 189 

They had found the stern discipline of the Massachusetts colony too 
oppressive, and some had been severely punished by the fiery Endicott. 
Upon returning to England they endeavored to induce the king to exert 
his power and remedy what they termed the distraction and disorder of 
the province of Massachusetts. Their complaint* were echoed by a 
strong party in England. Burdett wrote to Archbishop Laud that 
" The colonists aimed not at a new discipline, but at sovereignty ; that it 
was accounted treason in their general court to speak of appeals to the 
king ; " in which assertion he was right. The English archbishop began 
to regard the departure of so many " faithful and free-born Englishmen 
and good Christians" to join a new communion as a serious matter, and 
impediments were thrown in the way of emigration. In February, 1634, 
a requisition was addressed to the colony of Massachusetts ordering the 
colonial officials to produce the patent of the company in England. The 
colony took no notice of this demand. A little later the king appointed 
the Archbishop of Canterbury and some others a special commission, with 
full power over the American colonies. They were authorized to make 
such changes in church and state as they deemed necessary ; to enforce 
them with heavy penalties ; and even to revoke all charters that contained 
privileges inconsistent with the royal prerogative. 

The news of the appointment of this commission reached Boston in 
September, 1634, and it was also rumored that a governor-general for the 
colonies had been appointed, and had sailed from England. All Massachu- 
setts burned w'ith indignation, and the colony resolved to resist the attempt 
upon its liberties. It was very poor, but in a short space of time the large 
sura of six hundred pounds was raised for the public defence, and fortifi- 
cations were begun and pushed forward with energy. In January, 1635, 
the ministers were assembled at Boston and their opinion was asked upon 
the question whether the colony should receive a governor-general. They 
answered boldly : " We ought to defend our lawful possessions if we are 
able ; if not, to avoid and protract." 

In April, 1638, the privy council demanded the surrender of the 
charter of Massachusetts, threatening in case of refusal that the king 
would take the management of the colony into his own hands. The 
colonial authorities were firmly resolved to give the king no pretext for 
interference with their affairs, and instead of complying with the order of 
the privy council, they addressed a remonstrance to that body against the 
surrender required of them, thus seeking to gain time. They were fully 
determined not to give up their charter; but before their remonstrance 
could reach England the troubles which encompassed Charles at home 
made it impossible for him to carry out his designs against Massachusetts. 



190 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The breaking out of the civil war in England put a stop to the emi- 
gration to New England. At the opening of the year 1640 the popu- 
lation of New England numbered 20,000. Some fifty toM^ns and between 
thirty and forty churches had been built, and the most desponding could 
no longer doubt the ultimate success and prosperity of the country. The 
wretched cabins of the first settlers were rapidly giving way to fair and 
comfortable houses, and the colonists were beginning to gather about 
them many of the comforts and much of the refinement they had been 
accustomed to in England. 

Nor were the Puritans mindful of material success only. Many of 




HARVABD COLLEGE. 



them were persons of education, and they were anxious that tlieir children 
should have the opportunity of enjoying the blessings of knowledge in 
their new homes. In 1636 the general court made provision for the 
establishment at Newtown of a hiirh school. The name of the town was 
changed to Cambridge as a token that the people meant that it should 
yet be the seat of a university. In 1G37 the school was formally opened. 
The next year the Rev. John Harvard, of Charlestown, bequeathed to the 
infant institution his library and the half of his fortune, and in gratitude 
for this assistance the school took the name of Harvard Collcr/e, In 1647 



THE UNION OF THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES. 



191 



the general court ordered that in every town or district of fifty families 
there should be a common school ; and that in every town or district of 
one hundred families there should be a grammar school, conducted by 
teachers competent to prepare young men for college. This system 
rapidly found its way into the other New England colonies, with the 
exception of Rhode Island. 

Thus was founded the American system of common schools. Until 
now education had been the task of the church, or had been confided to 
private individuals; but now, for the first time in the history of the 




AN AMERICAK FREE SCHOOL. 



world, the state took the task of educating its young citizens into its own 
hands, and established the schools in which it was to be conducted. 
Henceforth knowledge was to be restricted to no favored class ; education 
was made free to every child, and every parent being taxed for the sup- 
port of the public schools was made to feel interested in their proper con- 
duct. From the little beginning thus made a vast and noble system has 
been developed, the beneficial results of which must be felt to the latest 
period of our national existence. Had the fathers of New England done 
nothing more for posterity than this, they would still deserve to be held 
in grateful remembrance as the founders of our public schools. Genera- 



192 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tions yet unborn shall rise up to call them blessed, and to acknowledge 
the truth of their conviction that ignorant men cannot make good citizens. 

In 1639 a printing press, presented to the colony by some friends in 
Holland, was set up in Massachasetts. Stephen Daye was the printer, 
and in that year printed an almanac calculated for New England, and in 
1640 a metrical version of the Psalms, made "by Thomas Welde and 
John Eliot, ministers of Roxbury, assisted by Richard Mather, minister 
of Dorchester." It was the first book printed in the English language 
in America, and continued to be used for a long time in the worship of 
the New England churches. 

Many of the settlers went back to England at the outset of the civil 
war to take part in the struggle, among whom were Governor Henry 
Vane and Hugh Peters, and very few emigrants arrived in New England 
duriuir the existence of the commonwealth. Yet the colonies continued 
to prosper. Ship-building, which had been introduced by the first settlers 
of Salem, was carried on with activity, and vessels of four hundred tons 
were constructed. A little later the manufacture of woollen and linen 
cloth was begun by order of the general court in consequence of the diffi- 
culty of obtaining supplies from England. 

The colonial churches were invited to send their representatives to the 
assembly of divines at Westminster, but they wisely neglected to do so, 
judging it better to remain in their obscurity than to give the English 
people a pretext for future interference by joining in their affairs. 

The Long Parliament was friendly to New England, and granted to 
the colonies an exemption from all duties upon their commerce " until 
the House of Commons should take order to the contrary." Massachu- 
setts took advantage of the security afforded by the friendship of the 
Long Parliament to establish a written constitution, or " body of liber- 
ties," which placed the rights and privileges of her people upon a more 
stable basis. It contained some of the severest laws of the Mosaic code, 
such as those against witchcraft, blasphemy, and sins against nature, but 
secured the freedom of the citizen, the right of representative govern- 
ment, and the independence of the state and the municipality. The 
rights of property, the freedom of inheritance, and the independence of 
each church from control by the others were also placed beyond disj)ute. 
"This constitution," says Bancroft, " for its liberality and comprehensive- 
ness may vie with any similar record from the days of Magna Charta." 

In April, 1642, the towns on the Piscataqua, now embraced within 
the limits of the State of New Hampshire, were annexed at their own 
request to jNIassachusetts. As the people of this region were not Puri- 
tans, and many of them were attached to the forms and faith of the 



THE UNION OF THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES. 193 

Church of England, the general court in September adopted a measure 
providing that neither the freemen nor the deputies of New Hampshire 
should be required to be church members. This act of justice removed 
all danger of political discord. In the same year Massachusetts made a 
less creditable and an unsuccessful effort to annex Rhode Island to her 
dominions. 

Though relieved of the interference of the mother country, the dangers 
of New England were not yet at an end. The Indians were still 
powerful upon their narrow border, the French were beginning to 
threaten them from the direction of Canada, and the Dutch from the 
Hudson. The colonies had so many interests in cbmmou that it was of 
vital importance that they should act in concert for their defence. 
After several ineffectual attempts, a league was formed in 1643 between 
the colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, 
under the title of "The United Colonies of New England.''^ Each colony 
was to retain its freedom in the management of its own affairs ; the 
authority of the union, which was intrusted to a commission of two 
members from each province, being limited to objects which concerned 
the general welfare of the colonies. Provision was made for the preser- 
vation of the purity of the gospel, the commissioners were required to be 
church members, and the expenses of the confederacy were to be assessed 
upon the colonies according to population. This union lasted for forty 
years. 

The colony of Rhode Island desired to be admitted into the union, but 
its petition was refused, as it would not acknowledge the jurisdiction of 
Plymouth. The people of the two settlements on Narragansett bay, 
dreading an attempt to absorb them into some of the other colonies, now 
determined to apply to Parliament for an independent charter. Roger 
Williams was despatched to England for that purpose in 1643, and 
reached that country soon after the death of Hamj^den. The fame of liis 
labors among the Indians had preceded him, and secured for him a 
cordial welcome in his native land. Assisted by Sir Henry Vane, a 
charter was obtained in March, 1644, organizing the settlements on 
Narragansett bay as an independent colony under the name of " The 
Providence Plantations," " with full power and authority to rule them- 
selves." The executive council of state in England, in 1651, made some 
grants to Coddington which would have dismembered the little state, 
and Williams was obliged to make a second voyage to England to have 
these grants vacated. He succeeded in his efforts and the charter was 
confirmed. He received in this, as in his former mission, the cordial 
co-operation of Sir Henry Vane, whose name should be ever dear to the 
18 



194 HISTOBT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

people of Rhode Island, since but for him her territory would have been 
divided among the neighboring colonies. In the interval between his 
first and second voyages Roger Williams became a convert to the Baptist 
faith, and founded the first church of that denomination in America. 
" The country between the Piscataqua and the Kennebec was assigned 
to Sir Ferdinand Gorges, who, in 1639, was confirmed in his possession 
by a formal cliarter from Charles I., who called the territory the 
Province of ISIaine. In 1640, Gorges sent his son Thomas to Maine as 
his representative. Thomas Gorges took up his residence at the settle- 
ment of Agamenticus, now the town of York, and in 1642 changed the 
name of the place to Gorgeana. 

Since the settlement of the colony the French had claimed the region 
between the St. Croix and the Penobscot, which they had settled under 
the name of Acadia, as has been stated elsewhere. After the death of 
Sir Ferdinand Gorges Maine was divided among his heirs. These cut it 
up into four weak communities, whose helplessness laid them open to the 
encroachments of the French in Canada. Apprehensive of the results of 
this, Massachusetts, to whom many of the inhabitants of the province 
had appealed to take such a course, in 1651 claimed the province of 
ISIaine as a part of the territory which had been granted to the colony by 
the original charter of Massaclmsetts. Commissioners were sent to 
establish the authority of the Bay colony over the province, but the 
magistrates of Maine resisted them, and appealed to the English govern- 
ment for protection. .The people of Maine were the adherents of the 
king and the established church, and England was now ruled by the 
Puritans ; consequently Massachusetts won her cause, and Maine was 
declared a part of that province. Massachusetts made a generous use of 
her power, and allowed the towns of Maine very much the same govern- 
ment and privileges they now enjoy, and in religious matters treated 
them with the same leniency she had shown to New Hampshire. 

In 1646, a dispute in the Bay colony induced one of the parties to it to 
appeal to Parliament to sustain his claims, and an order was sent out to 
Boston in his behalf " couched in terms which involved the right of 
Parliament to reverse the decisions and control the government of 
Massachusetts." In plainer terms, Parliament claimed the right to 
revoke the charter of the colony, as the king had done at the outset of 
the civil war. The danger was great, and Massachusetts met it with 
firmness. The general court met on the 4th of Xovember, and sat with 
closed doors to discuss the claim of the English government. It was 
resolved " that jSIassachu setts owed to England the same allegiance as 
the free Hanse towns had rendered to the empire ; as Normandy, when 



TEE UNION OF THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES. 195 

its dukes were kings of England, paid to the monarchs of France." 
The court also refused to accept a new charter from Parliament, as that 
action might imply a surrender of the original instrument, or to allow 
Parliament to control in any way the independence of the colony. Great 
as this claim was it was admitted by the English Parliament, in which 
the rights of the colony were stoutly maintained by Sir Henry Vane and 
others ; and in reply to a respectful address of the general court setting 
forth the views of that body, a committee of Parliament declared : " We 
encourage no appeals from your justice. We leave you with all the free- 
dom and latitude that may, in any respect, be duly claimed by you." 
Later on, upon the establishment of the commonwealth. Parliament 
invited the people of Massachusetts to receive a new patent from that 
body ; but the colonial authorities wisely declined to do this, or to allow 
the home government any hold upon the administration of the affairs of 
the province. 

In 1651, Cromwell, who had subdued Ireland, offered that island to 
the Puritans of New England as a new home ; but they declined to leave 
America. Cromwell proved himself in many ways a judicious friend of 
New England, and the people of that country treasured his memory with 
the gratitude and respect it so richly deserved. 

Though so successful in asserting her own liberties, Massachusetts had 
not yet learned the lesson of religious tolerance. When the Baptists 
began to appear in the colony severe measures were inaugurated to crush 
them, and one of their number — Holmes — a resident of Lynn, was 
whipped unmercifully. Still greater were the severities practised towards 
the Quakers. This sect had grown out of the Protestant Reformation, 
and constituted at this day the most advanced thinkers upon religious 
matters to be found in England. They claimed a perfect freedom in 
matters of faith and worship, and regarded all laws for enforcing religious 
systems as works of the devil. They Avere persons of pure lives, and 
even their most inveterate enemies could not charge them with wrong- 
doing. Previous to their appearance in Massachusetts exaggerated 
reports reached the colony concerning them. They were represented as 
making war upon all forms of religion and government. 

The first of this creed who came to New England were Mary Fisher 
and Ann Austin, who reached Boston in July, 1656. In the absence of 
a special law against Quakers, they were arrested under the provisions of 
the general statute against heresy ; their trunks were searched and their 
books burned by the hangman. Their persons were examined for 
marks of witchcraft, but nothing could be found against them, and after 
being kept close prisoners for five weeks, they were sent back to England. 



196 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

During the year eight others were also sent back to England. Laws 
which were a disgrace to an enlightened community were now passed 
prohibiting the Quakers from entering the colony. Such as came were 
imprisoned, cruelly whipped, and sent away. In 1657, a woman was 
whipped with twenty stripes for this oifence. In 1658, a law was 
enacted that if any Quaker should return after being banished, his or her 
oifence should be punished with death. It was hoped that this barbarous 
measure would rid the colony of their presence ; but they came in still 
greater numbers, to reprove the magistrates for their persecuting spirit, 
and to call them to repentance. In 1659, Marmaduke Stephenson, 
William Robinson, Mary Dyar, and William Leddro were hanged on 
Boston Common for returning to the colony after being banished. 

These cruelties were regarded with great discontent by the people of 
the colony, whose humanity was shocked by the barbarity of the magis- 
trates. Their opposition grew stronger every day, and at last it became 
evident to the magistrates themselves that their severities were of no 
avail. When William Leddro was being sentenced to death the magis- 
trates were startled by the entrance into the court room of Wenlock 
Christison, a Quaker who had been banished and forbidden to return on 
pain of death. Christison was arrested, but the complaints of the people 
became so loud that the magistrates were obliged to pause in their bloody 
work. Christison and twenty-seyen of his companions were released 
from custody, the persecution of the Quakers was discontinued, and the 
general court, in obedience to the >vill pf the people, repealed tlie bar- 
barous laws against that sect. 

In pleasing contrast with tliese severities were the efforts of the Puri- 
tans to spread a knowledge of the gospel among the savages. Chief 
among those engaged in the good work was John Eliot, the minister of 
Roxbury, whose labors won him the name of " the apostle Eliot." He 
went among the red men in the forests, and acquired a knowledge of 
their language that he might preach to them in their own tongue. When 
he had become sufficiently proficient in it, he translated the Bible into 
the Indian language. This translation was printed at Cambridge, and- a 
part of the type was set by an Indian compositor. He spent many years 
in the preparation of his Bible, and made a good use of it during his 
life ; but it is now valuable only as a literary curiosity and as the evi- 
dence of the devotion of the translator to his noble work. The destruction 
of the race for which it was intended has made it a sealed book. Eliot 
gathered his savage converts into a settlement at Natick, and taught the 
men the art of agriculture and the women to spin and to weave cloth. 
He had to encounter the opposition of the chiefs and medicine men or 



THE UNION OF THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES. 



197 



priests, who resented his efforts to win their people from the worship and 
habits of their ancestors, but he persevered. He was greatly beloved bj 
his disciples, and continued his labors among them far into old age, and 
to a limited extent to the day of his death, which took place when he 
had attained the ripe age of eighty-six years. " My memory, my utter- 
ance fails me," he said near the close of his life ; " but I thank God my 
charity holds out still." When Walton, a brother minister, visited him 
on his death-bed, he greeted him with the words : " Brother, you are 




NEWPORT, R. I. 



welcome ; but retire to your study and pray that I may be gone." His 
last words on earth were the triumphal shout with which he entered upon 
his reward : " Welcome joy ! " 

Many of the Quakers, after the persecution against them was over, 
joined Eliot in his labors. He had other fellow- workers. The two 
Mayhews, father and son, Cotton, and Brainerd thought it a privilege to 
labor for the souls of the poor savages. Native preachers were ordained, 
and at last there were thirty churches of " praying Indians " under such 
preachers. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE RESTORATION. 

Arrival of the News of the Restoration of Charles II. — The Regicides in New England — 
They are Protected — Revival of the Navigation Acts — Effect of this measure upon the 
•New England Colonies — Massachusetts delays the Proclamation of the King — Con- 
necticut obtains a Charter — Union of New Haven with the Connecticut Colony — Rhode 
Island given a new Charter — Massachusetts settles her difficulties with the Crown — 
Changes in the Government — High-handed acts of the Royal Commissioners — Troubles 
with the Indians — Injustice of tlie Whites — King Philip's War — A Forest Hero — An 
Incident in the Attack upon Hadley — Sufferings of the Colonies — Destruction of the 
Narragansetts — Death of Philip — Close of the War — England asserts her right to Tax 
the Colonies — Massachusetts buys Gorges' claims to Maine — New Hampshire made a 
separate Province — James II. revokes the Charter of Massachusetts — Dudley and Ran- 
dolph in New England — Andros appointed Governor-General — His Tyranny — He de- 
mands the Charter of Connecticut — It is carried away and Hidden — The Charter Oak — 
Fall of James II. — Tlie people of Massachusetts take up Arms — Andros arrested — 
Effects of the Revolution upon New England. 

HE news of the restoration of Charles II. to the English throne 
was brought to Boston by Edward Whalley and William Goffe, 
two of the judges of Charles I. They came to seek refuge 
from the vengeance of the king, having offended him beyond 
forgiveness by their share in the death of his father. They re- 
mained about a year in Massachusetts, protected by the people, and 
preaching to them. A few months after their arrival, warrants for their 
arrest and transportation to England for trial arrived from the king, and 
to escape this danger they took refuge in New Haven. The royal 
offieers instituted a diligent search for them, and they were obliged to 
change their place of concealment frequently. Great rewards were 
offered for their betrayal, and even the Indians were urged to search the 
woods for their hiding-places. The pe<iple whom they trusted protected 
them, and aided them to escape the royal officers until the vigor of the 
search was exhausted. They then conducted them to a secure refuge in 
the vicinity of Hadley, where they remained in seclusion and peace until 
the close of their lives. 

News was constantly arriving in the colonies of the execution of the 
men who had been the friends of America in the Parliament, and a 
198 




NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE RESTORATION. 199 

general sadness was cast over the settlements by the tidings of the death 
of Hugh Peters and the noble Sir Henry Vane. From the first the 
people of New England saw plainly that they had little reason to expect 
justice at the hands of the royal government, and there was little rejoic- 
ing in that region at the return of the king to " his own again." 

One of Charles's first acts was to revive in a more odious form the 
navigation act of the Long Parliament. We have spoken of the effect 
of this measure upon the colonies of Virginia and Maryland. This act 
closed the harbors of America against the vessels of every European 
nation save England, and forbade the exportation of certain American 
productions to any country but England or her possessions. This was a 
very serious blow to New England, and was intended as such. The 
colonies of that region had already built up a growing commerce, and 
this, together with their activity in ship-building, excited the envy and 
the hostility of the British merchants, who hoped, by inducing the king 
to place these restrictions upon the colonies, to compel the Americans to 
depend upon them for the supply of all their wants. Later on, America 
was forbidden not only to manufacture any articles which might compete 
with English manufactures in foreign markets, but to supply her own 
wants with her own manufactures. At the same time Parliament en- 
deavored to destroy the trade that had grown up between New England 
and the southern colonies by imposing upon the articles exported from 
one colony to another a duty equal to that imposed upon the consumption 
of these articles in England. 

Thus did Great Britain lay the foundation of that system of com- 
mercial injustice toward her colonies which eventually deprived her of 
them, and which her greatest writer on political economy declared to be 
"a manifest violation of the rights of mankind." The policy thus 
established in the reign of Charles II. was never departed from. Each 
succeeding administration remained true to the principles of the naviga- 
tion act, and consistently declined to admit the claim of the colonies to 
just and honorable treatment at the hands of the mother country. 

Charles II. was promptly proclaimed in the colonies of Plymouth, 
Connecticut, New Haven and Rhode Island, and those provinces were 
administered in his name. Massachusetts, distrusting his purposes 
towards her, held back, and waited until he should show his intentions 
more plainly. 

Connecticut had purchased the claims of the assigns of the Earl of 
Warwick to the region occupied by her, and had bought the territory 
of the Mohegans from Uncas, their sachem. The colony sent the 
younger Winthrop to England in 1661 ^ to obtain a charter from the 



200 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

king. The noble character of Governor Winthrop was well known in 
England, and impressed even the profligate Charles. His reception was 
cordial and his mission entirely successful. In 1662, the king granted 
to the colony a charter incorporating Hartford and New Haven in one 
province under the name of Connecticut, and extending its limits from 
Long Island sound westward to the Pacific ocean, thus bestowing upon 
the colony those rich western lands which were subsequently made the 
basis of the matrnificent scliool fund of Connecticut. The charter was 
substantially the same in its provisions as the constitution adopted by 
the Hartford colony. By it the king conferred upon the colonists the 
riirht to elect tlieir own officers and to make and administer their own 
laws without interference from England in any event whatever. Con- 
necticut was made independent in all but name, and the charter continued 
in force as the constitution of the State after the period of independence 
until 1818. 

The colony of New Haven was much opposed to the union with Con- 
necticut, and it required all Governor Winthrop's efforts to induce the 
people of that colony to accept it. The matter was adjusted in 1665, 
when the union was finally accomplished. The labors of Governor 
Winthrop were rewarded by his annual election as governor of Con- 
necticut for fourteen years. Connecticut was a fortunate colony. Its 
government was ably and honestly administered ; no persecutions marred 
its peace, and its course was uniformly prosperous and happy. It was 
always one of the most peaceful and orderly colonies of New England, 
and for a century its i)opulation doubled once in twenty years, notwith- 
standing frequent emigrations of its people to other parts of the country. 
The colony at an early day made a liberal provision for education, and 
in 1700 Yale College was founded. It was originally located at Say- 
brooke, but in 1718 was removed to New Haven. 

Rhode Island was equally fortunate. Through its resident agent at Lon- 
don, John Clarke, it made application to the king for a new charter, and 
after some dekiy, caused by the difficulty of arranging satisfactorily tlie 
limits of the province, a charter was granted in 1663, formally establish- 
ing the colony of " Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." This 
charter continued to be the sole constitution of Rho<le Island until the 
year 1842. By its provisions the government of the colony was to con- 
sist of a governor, deputy-governor, ten assistants, and representatives 
from the towns. The laws were to he agret^able to those of England, but 
no oath of allegiance was required of the colony, and in matters of 
religion the charter declared that "no person within the said colony, at 
any time hereafter, shall be anywise molested, punished, disquieted, or 



NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE RESTORATION. 201 

called in question for any diiFerence in opinion in matters of religion ; 
every person may at all times freely and fully enjoy his own judgment 
and conscience in matters of religious concernments." Freedom of con- 
science was not restricted to Christians ; it was extended by the charter 
to infidels and pagans as well. This charter made the little colony secure 
against the attempts of Massachusetts to absorb her, and its reception by 
the people was joyful and entiiusiastic. 

At this period the population of Rhode Island was about twenty-five 
hundred. It increased rapidly and steadily ; the excellent harbors of the 
province encouraged commerce, and the little state soon began to rival 
her larger associates in prosperity. 

Massachusetts was from the first regarded with disfavor by the royal 
government. It delayed its acknowledgment of Charles II. for over a 
year, and the king was not proclaimed at Boston until the 7th of August, 
1661. Even then the general court forbade all manifestations of joy. 
These signs of the independent spirit of the people had been observed in 
England, and the colony had been watched by the government with any- 
thing but favor. The enemies of the young state hurried their com- 
plaints before the king, and Massachusetts at length fonnd it to her 
interest to send commissioners to London, as, indeed, the- express orders 
of the king required her to do. Among the agents sent over were John 
Norton and Simon Bradstreet, men of ability and moderation, who com- 
manded the confidence of all classes of the colonists. Their instructions 
"were to assure the king of the loyalty of Massachusetts, to engage his 
favor for the colony ; but to agree to " nothing prejudicial to their present 
standing according to their patent, and to endeavor the establishment of 
the rights and privileges then enjoyed." 

The commissioners reached London in January, 1662, and were gra- 
ciously received by the king, who confirmed the charter, and granted a 
complete amnesty for all past offences against his majesty. He required, 
however, that all laws derogatory to his authority should be repealed ; 
that the colonists should take the oath of allegiance to him; that justice 
should be administered in his name ; that the right of suffrage should be 
thrown open to all freeholders of competent estates ; and that all who 
wished to do so should be free to use " the book of common prayer, and 
perform their devotion in the manner established in England." 

These were better terms than the commissioners had reason to expect, 
and were not in themselves objectionable, as Massachusetts was growing 
beyond its early prejudices ; but the acceptance of them would have im- 
plied an acknowledgment by the colony of the king's right to change its 
fundamental law, and to interfere with its afiairs at pleasure. Massa- 



202 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

chusetts was at once divided iiito two parties, the larger of which main- 
tained the independence of the colony of royal control ; the smaller party 
supported the claims of the king. Under other circumstances no oppo- 
sition would have been made to the toleration of the practices of the 
Church of England in the colony ; but now that it seemed that episco- 
pacy was to be introduced as the ally of the royal power, the people of 
Massachusetts resolved to prevent it from obtaining a foothold in their 
midst. The general court resolved to maintain their political independ- 
ence, and their religious establishment as well. As a measure of pre- 
caution the charter was secretly intrusted for safe-keeping to a committee 
of four appointed by the general court; and it was ordered that only 
small bodies of officers and men should be allowed to land from ships, 
and should be required to yield a strict obedience to the laws of the 
province while on shore. 

These last measures were adopted because of the appointment by the 
king of commissioners to regulate the affairs of New England. The 
commissioners rcachal Boston in July, 1664, escorted by the fleet sent 
out from England for the reduction of New Amsterdam. They M-ere 
ordered to investigate the manner in which the charters of the New Eng- 
land colonies had been exercised, and had " full authority to provide for 
the peace of the country, according to the royal instructions, and their 
own discretion" — a power which Massachusetts was justified in regarding 
as dangerous to her liberties. 

The commissioners cared very little for the prejudices of the people of 
Massachusetts, and from the first proceeded to outrage their feelings. 
They introduced the services of the Church of England into Boston to 
the great disgust of the people. The Puritans had always observed the 
old Jewish custom of beginning their Sabbath at sunset. The commis- 
sioners contemptuously disregarded this custom, and spent Saturday 
evening in merry-making. They soon gave cause for more serious "alarm 
by exercising the powers with which they had been intrusted, and pro- 
ceeding to redress the grievances of the people. All persons who had 
complaints against Massachusetts were called upon to lay them before the 
commissioners, and Rhode Island and the Narragansett chiefs promptly 
availed themselves of the invitation. The general court now cut the 
matter short by a decisive step, and sternly ordered the commissioners to 
discontinue their proceedings, as contrary to the charter. The commis- 
sioners obeyed the order, and though the firmness of the colony aroused 
the indignation of the king, he was not able to shake the determination 
of a free people. 

Nor was this the only opposition shown by New England to the in- 



NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE RESTORATION. 203 

justice of the mother country. The navigation acts were generally 
disregarded ; they could not be enforced ; and Boston and the other 
Kew England ports continued to enjoy their growing commerce as freely 
as before the passage of these infamous acts. Vessels from all the other 
colonies, and from France, Spain, Holland, and Italy, as well as from 
England, were to be seen at all seasons in the port of Boston. Massa- 
chusetts owned the greater number of vessels built and operated in 
America, and was the principal carrier for the other colonies. Its ships 
sailed to the most distant lands beyond the sea, and the commerce of the 
colony was rapidly becoming a source of great wealth. So marked 
indeed was the prosperity of New England, that upon the receipt of the 
news of the great fire in London, the colonists were able to send large 
sums to the assistance of the suiferers. The people of New England 
were industrious and frugal. Villages multiplied rapidly, and wlierever 
a village sprang up a common school accompanied it. The villages began 
to assume a more tasteful and pleasing appearance, and men gave more 
care to the adornment and beautifying of their homes. 

The population of New England in 1675 has been estimated at about 
55,000 souls ; divided among the colonies as follows : Plymouth, about 
7000; Connecticut, about 14,000; Massachusetts, about 22,000; Maine, 
about 4000 ; New Hampshire, about 4000 ; Rhode Island, about 4000. 
The settlements lay principally along the coast, from New Haven to the 
northeastern border of Maine. Little progress had been made towards 
penetrating the interior. Haverhill, Deerfield, Northfield, and Westfield 
were towns on the remote frontier. This rapid growth alarmed the 
Indians, who had already begun to regard the whites as enemies bent on 
their destruction. Though there had been peace for forty years in New 
England, the savages saw that the policy pursued by the settlers was 
meant to force them back from the lands of their fathers. The whites 
had gradually absorbed the best lands in New England, and the red men 
had been as gradually crowded down upon the narrow necks and bays of 
the southern shores of the Plymouth and Rhode Island colonies. This 
had been done in pursuance of a settled policy, as the savages could be 
more carefully watched, and more easily managed in these localities than 
if left to roam at will over the country. The Indians on their part sul- 
lenly resented the course of the whites, and they had cause for complaint. 
They were ignorant of the art of cultivating the soil, and unwilling to 
practice it, and in their restricted limits it was difficult for them to obtain 
the means of supporting life. The game had been almost entirely driven 
from the forests, and the savages were forced to depend upon fish for 
their food ; and tliese were obtained in scanty and uncertain quantities. 



204: 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Thus the very success of New England was about to bring upon it the 
most serious misfortunes it had yet sustained. 

Massosoit, who had been the early friend of the English, left two 
sons at his death, Wamsutta and Metacora, who had long been reckoned 
among the friends of the Plymouth colony. They were frequent visitors 
at Plymouth, and had received from the English the names of Alexander 
and Philip. At the death of Massasoit, Wamsutta or Alexander became 
chief of the AVampanoags. He and his brother Philip were men of 
more than ordinary abilities, and felt deeply the wrongs which Mere be- 
ginning to fall thickly upon their race. Uncas, the chief of the Mohegans, 
the determined enemy of A\'amsutta, exerted himself, with success, to fill 

the minds of the English with sus- 
picions of the intentions of the AVam- 
panoag chieftain, and it was resolved 
to arrest him and bring him to Ply- 
mouth. AVinslow was sent at the 
head of an armed force, and succeeded 
in surprising the chief in his hunting- 
lodge, together with eighty of his fol- 
lowers. The proud spirit of Wam- 
sutta chafed with such fury at the 
indignity thus put upon him that he 
was seized with a dangerous fever, 
and the English were obliged to per- 
mit him to return home. " He died on 
his way," says Elliott. - "He was car- 
ried home on the shoulders of men, and 
borne to his silent grave near Mount 
Hope, in the evening of the day, and in the prime of his life, between lines 
of sa(l,(iuick-minded Indians, wlio well believed him the victim of injustice 
and ingratitude ; for his father had been the ally, not the subject of Eng- 
land, and so was he, and the like indignity had not before been put upon 
any sachem." 

By the death of his brother, Metacom, or Philip, became chief of the 
AVampanoags. He kept his own council, but the whites soon had cause 
to believe that lie meditated a desperate vengeance upon them for the 
death of AVamsutta and the wrongs of his race. To make the sense of 
injury deeper in his mind the Plymouth authorities treated him with 
great harshness, and compelled him to give up his arms. A " praying 
Indian" who lived among his people informed the colonists that the 
chief meditated harm against them, and his dead body was soon a^er 




KING PHILIP. 



IfEW ENGLAND AFTER THE RESTORATION. 205 

found. Three of Philip's men were suspected of the murder. They 
were arrested, tried at Plymouth, and found guilty by a jury composed 
of whites and Indians, and were put to death. This was early in 1675. 

The execution of these men awoke a wild thirst for revenge among the 
tribe to which they belonged, and the young warriors clamored loudly 
for war against the English. Philip, whose vigorous mind enabled him 
to judge more clearly of the issue of such a struggle, entered into the 
contest with reluctance, for he saw that it must end in the destruction of 
his race. He was powerless to resist the universal sentiment of his 
people, and like a true hero resolved to make the best of the situation in 
which he was placed, and to share the fate of his nation. The Indians 
were tolerably well provided with fire-arms, for, in spite of the severe 
punishments denounced against the sale of weapons to the savages, the 
colonists had not been proof against the temptations of gain held out to 
them by this traffic. Their chief dependence, however, was upon their 
primitive weapons. The English, on the other hand, were well ayned, 
and were provided with forts and towns which furnished them with 
secure places of refuge. They might have averted the war by conciliat- 
ing the savages, but they persisted in their unjust treatment of them, 
regarding them as " bloody heathen," whom it was their duty to drive 
back into the wilderness. 

Philip was able to bring seven hundred desperate warriors into the 
field. They had no hope of success ; and they fought only for vengeance. 
They knew every nook and hiding-place of the forest, and in these 
natural defences could hope to continue the struggle as long as the leaves 
remained on the trees to conceal their lurking-places from the white 
man's search. Immediately after the execution of the three Indians at 
Plymouth, Philip's men had begun to rob exposed houses and carry off 
cattle, but the war did not actually begin until the 24th of June, 1675, 
the day of fasting and prayer appointed by the government as a prepara- 
tion for the struggle. On that day the people of Swanzey, in Plymouth 
colony, while returning home from church, were attacked by the Wam- 
panoags, and eight or nine were killed. Philip burst into tears when 
the news of this attack was brought to him, but he threw himself with 
energy into the hopeless struggle, now that it had come. 

Reinforcements were sent from Massachusetts to the aid of the 
Plymouth colony, and on the 29th of June the united forces made an 
attack upon the Wampanoags, killed six or seven of their men and drove 
them to a swamp in which they took refuge. The English surrounded 
this swamp, determined to starve the Indians into submission, but Philip 
and his warriors escaped and took refuge among the Nipmucks, a small 



206 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tribe occupying what is now Worcester county, Massachusetts. The 
English then marched into the territory of the Narragansetts and com- 
pelled them to agree to remain neutral, and to deliver up the fugitive 
Indians who should take refuge among them. This accomplished, the 
colonists hoped they had put an end to the war. 

Philip succeeded in inducing the Nipmucks to join him in the 
struggle, and his warriors began to hang around the English settlements. 
The whites were murdered wherever they ventured to expose themselves, 
and a feeling of general terror spread through the colonies. No one 
knew the extent of the hostility of the savage tribes, or how many allies 
Philip had gained ; nor was it certain when or where the next great 
blow of the savages would be struck. Some of the colonists began to 
give way to superstitious fears. It was asserted that an Indian bow, a 
sign of impending evil, had been seen clearly defined against the heavens, 
and that at the eclipse which occurred at this time the moon bore the 
figure of an Indian scalp on its face. The northern heavens glowed with 
auroriu lights of unusual brilliancy; troops of phantom horsemen were 
heard to dash through the air ; the sighing of the night wind was like 
the sound of whistling bullets ; and the howling of the wolves was fiercer 
and more constant than usual. These things, the superstitious declared, 
were warnings that the colonies were about to be severely punished for 
their sins, among which they named profane swearing, the neglect of 
bringing up their children in more rigid observances, the licensing of ale 
houses, and the wearing of long hair by the men and of gay apparel by 
the women. The more extreme even declared that they were about to be 
"judged" for not exterminating the Quakers. 

In the meantime Philip, with a party of Nipmucks and his own 
people, carried the war into the valley of the Connecticut, and spread 
death along the line of settlements from Springfield to Northfield, then 
the most remote inland town. "With the hope of withdrawing the Xip- 
mucks, who could muster fifteen hundred warriors, from the confederacv, 
Captain Hutchinson, Avith twenty men, was sent to treat with them. 
His i)arty was ambushed and murdered at Brookfield early in August. 
The Indians then attacked Brookfield, and burned the villatre with the 
exception of one strong house to which the colonists retreated. After a 
siege of two days, during which they kept up a constant fire upon the 
building, they attempted to burn the house, but were prevented by a 
shower of rain which extinguished the flames. At the same moment a 
reinforcement of fifty men arrived to the aid of the whites, and the 
savages were driven off with the loss of several of their number. Philip 
succeeded in drawing to his support nearly all the tribes of New Eng- 



NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE RESTORATION. 



207 



land, and it was resolved by the savages to make a general effort for the 
destruction of the whites. A concerted attack was to be made upon a 
large number of settlements at the same day and hour, and the Sabbath 
was chosen as the day most favorable for the movement. 

Deerfield in Massachusetts and Hadley in Connecticut were among the 
places attacked. The former was burned. Hadley was assailed while 
the congregation were worshipping in the church, and the whites were 
hard pressed by their antagonists. Suddenly in the midst of the battle 




ATTACK UPON BBOOKFIELD BY THE INDIANS. 

there appeared a tall and venerable man ■with a flowing beard, and clad 
in a strange dress. With sword in hand he rallied the settlers, and led 
them to a new effort in which the savages were beaten back and put to 
flight. When the battle was over, the stranger could not be found, and 
the wondering people declared that he was an angel sent by God for 
their deliverance. It was Goffe, the regicide, who had suddenly left his 
place of concealment to aid his countrymen in their struggle with the 
savages. He had been lying in concealment at the house of Russell, 



208 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the minister of Hadley, and returned to his place of refuge when the 
danger was over. 

On the whole the Indians, though they succeeded in causing great 
suffering to the colonies, were unsuccessful in their efforts during the 
summer and autumn of 1675. In October, Philip returned to his old 
home, but, finding Mount Hope in ruins, took shelter among the Narra- 
gansetts, who protected him notwithstanding their promise to deliver up 
all fugitives to the English. The colonial authorities seeing that the 
tribe had no intention of fulfilling their promise, and being fearful that 
Pliilip would succeed in winning them over to his side, resolved to an- 
ticipate the danger and treat them as enemies. 

A force was collected and sent into the Narragansett country in 
December, 1675. This tribe, numbering about three thousand souls, had 
erected a strong fort of palisades in the midst of a swamp near the pres- 
ent town of Kingston, Rhode Island. It was almost inaccessible, and 
had but a single entrance, defended by a morass, which could be passed 
only by means of a fallen tree. The English were led to the fort by an 
Indian traitor, and attacked it on the 19th of December. After a severe 
fight of two hours they succeeded in forcing an entrance into the fort. 
The wigwams were then fired, and the whole place was soon in flames. 
The defeat of the savages was complete, but it was purchased by the loss 
of six captains and two hundred and fifty men killed and wounded on 
the part of the English. About one thousand of the Narragansetts were 
slain, their provisions were destroyed and numbers were made prisoners. 
Those who escaped wandered through the frozen woods without shelter, 
and for food were compelled to dig for nuts and acorns under the snow. 
Many died during the winter. Canonchet, the Narragansett chief, was 
among the survivors. " We will fight to the last man rather than 
become servants to the English," said the undaunted chieftain. He was 
taken prisoner in April, 1676, near Blackstone, and was offered his life 
if he would induce the Indians to make peace. He refused the offer 
with scorn, and, when sentenced to deatii, answered proudly : " I like it 
well : I shall die before I speak anything unworthy of myself." 

In the spring of 1676, Philip, who had been to the west to endeavor 
to induce the Mohawks to join the war against the English, returned to 
place himself at the head of his countrymen in New England. The 
work of murdering and burning was resumed with renewed fury. The 
Indians seemed to be everywhere and innumerable, and the whites could 
find safety only in their forts. The surviving Narragansetts scourged 
the Rhode Island and Plymouth colonies with fire and axe, and even the 
aged Roger Williams was obliged to take up arms for the defence of his 



NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE RESTORATION. 209 

home. Lancaster, Medford, Weymouth, Groton, Springfield, Sudbury 
and Marlborough, in Massachusetts, and Providence and Warwick, in 
Rhode Island, were destroyed either wholly or in part, and numerous 
other settlements were attacked and made to suiFer more or less 
severely. 

As the season advanced the cause of the Indians became more hopeless, 
and they began to quarrel among themselves. In June the Nipmucks 
submitted, and the tribes on the Conneeticut refused to shelter Philip any 
longer. He then appealed to the Mohawks to take up the hatchet, but 
seeing that his cause was hopeless, they refused to join him. In proud 
despair Philip went back "to Mount Hope to die. One of his people 
urged him to make peace with the whites, and was struck dead by the 
hand of the chief for daring to mention such a humiliation. It became 
known that Philip had returned to his old home, and Captain Church 
marched against him, dispersed his followers, and took the chief's wife 
and little son prisoners. Philip, who had borne the reverses and the 
reproaches of his nation with the firmness of a hero, was conquered by 
this misfortune. " My heart breaks," he cried, despairingly, " I am ready 
to die." He was soon attacked by Church in his place of concealment, 
and in attempting to escape was shot by an Indian who was serving in 
the ranks of his enemies. Philip's little son was sold as a slave in Ber- 
muda, and the grandson of Massasoit, who had welcomed and befriended 
the English, was condemned to pass his days in bondage in a foreign 
clime. 

The death of Pliilip was soon followed by the close of hostilities. 
The i^ower of the Indians was completely broken. Of the Narragansetts 
scarcely one hundred men were left alive, and the other tribes had 
suiFered severely. The Mohegans had remained faithful to the English, 
and Connecticut had been happily spared the sufferings experienced by 
the other colonies, which were very severe. Twelve or thirteen towns were 
destroyed, and many others were seriously crippled. Six hundred houses 
were burned, and the pecuniary losses amounted to the then enormous sum 
of half a million of dollars. Over six hundred men, chiefly young men, 
fell in the war, and there was scarcely a family which did not mourn 
some loved one who had given his life for the country. 

In all their distress the colonies received no aid from England. The 
mother country left them to fight out their struggle of life and death 
alone. The English people and government were indifferent to tlieir fate. 
One generous Non-conformist church in Dublin sent a contribution of 
five hundred pounds to the sufferers. This relief was gratefully acknowl- 
edged ; but to the credit of New England it should be remembered that 
14 



210 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



her colonies never asked assistance from England. The king was very- 
careful, however, to exact every penny he could wring from the colonies, 
and towards the close of the Indian war established a royal custom-house 
at Boston for the collection of duties. Duties were imposed upon the 
commerce of the colonies, and the royal government endeavored to enforce 
their payment by threatening to refuse the Kew England ships the pro- 
tection which enabled them to escape the outrages of the African pirates 
of the Mediterranean. 

The province of Maine had been restored by Charles II. to the heirs 
of Sir Ferdinand Gorges, and in 1677 Massachusetts purchased their 
claims for the sum of twelve hundred and ' fifty jjounds, and thus con- 
firmed her possession of the region between the Piscataqua and the Kenne- 
bec. The region between the Kennebec and the Penobscot was held by 
the Duke of York, and that from the Penobscot to the St. Croix was 
occupied by the French. 

In July, 1679, King Charles detached JSTew Hampshire from Massa- 
chusetts, and organized it as a 
royal province; the first ever 
erected in Ne\v England. The 
province at once asserted its rights, 
and a controversy M'as begun -with 
the crown, which was continued 
for several years. The people re- 
sisted the effort to force upon them 
the observances of the English Church, and the collection of taxes 
assessed by the royal officials, and Cranfield, the royal governor, finding 
it impossible to continue his arbitrary rule, wrote to the British govern- 
ment, " I shall esteem it the greatest happiness in the world to remove 
from these unreasonable people. They cavil at the royal commission, and 
not at my person. No one will be accepted by them who puts the king's 
commands in execution." , 

In the last years of his reign Charles II. made a determined cifort to 
destroy the charter of ^Massachusetts. Commissioners were sent by the 
colony to England to endeavor to defend its rights, but the royal govern- 
ment was resolved upon its course, and the people of Massachusetts were 
equally determined not to consent to the surrender of their liberties. At 
length, in 1684, the general court having in the name of the people 
distinctly refused to make a surrender of the charter to the king, the 
English courts declared the charter forfeited. A copy of the judgment 
ivas sent to Boston, and was received there on the 2d of July, 1685. 
The colony was fuU of apprehension. The charter under which it had 




COAT OF ARMS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE RESTORATION. 211 

grown and prospered, and which secured its liberties to it without the 
interference of the crown, had been stricken down by the subservient 
courts of the mother country, and there was now no defence between the 
liberties of Massachusetts and the arbitrary will of the king, who had 
given the colony good cause to fear his hostility. 

James II. came to the English throne in 1685. He was even more 
hostile to New England than his brother Charles. He was a bigoted 
Roman Catholic, and was resolved to introduce that faith, not only into 
England, but also into the colonies. He attempted to accomplish this 
by proclaiming an indulgence or toleration of all creeds. As he dared 
not proceed openly to violate his coronation oath he hoped by this under- 
handed scheme to place his own religion upon such a footing in England 
that he would soon be in a position to compel its adoption by his sub- 
jects. He had greatly mistaken the temper of both England and 
America. 

Joseph Dudley, who had been sent to England as one of the agents of 
Massachusetts in the last controversy between the colony and King 
Charles, now fqund it to his interest to become as ardent a defender, as 
he had formerly been an opponent, of the royal prerogative, and James 
finding him a willing abetter of his designs, appointed him president of 
Massachusetts until a royal governor should arrive, for the king was 
resolved to take away the charters of all the colonies and make them 
royal provinces. At the same time, being determined to curtail the 
liberty of the press, the king appointed Edward Randolph its censor. 
Dudley was regarded by the people as the betrayer of the liberties of his 
country, and both he and Randolph were cordially desj)ised by them. 
The king in appointing Dudley made no provision for an assembly or 
general court, as he meant to govern the colonies without reference to the 
people. He regarded the American provinces as so many possessions of 
the crown, possessed of no rights, and entitled to no privileges save what 
he chose to allow them. 

In pursuance of this plan, Sir Edmund Andros, whom the king had 
appointed governor of New York, was made governor-general of all New 
England. He reached Boston in December, 1686. Dudley was made 
chief justice, and Randolph, colonial secretary. The governor-general 
was empowered by the king to appoint his own council, impose such 
taxes as he should think fit, command the militia of the colonies, enforce 
the navigation acts, prohibit printing, and establish episcopacy in New 
England ; and in order to enable^him to enforce his will two companies 
of soldiers were sent over with him, and quartered in Boston. Thus 
w^ere the liberties of New England placed at the mercy of a tyrant, and 



212 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



thus was inaugurated a despotism the most galling that was ever imposed 
upon men of English descent. 

Andros promptly put in force a series of the most arbitrary measures. 
The public schools, which had been fostered with such care by the 
colonial governments, were allowed to fall into decay. The support 
which had been granted to the churches was withdrawn. The people 
were forbidden to assemble for the discussion of any public matter, 
though they were allowed the poor privilege of electing their town offi- 
cers. The form of oath in use in New England was an appeal to heaven 
with uplifted hand. The governor now ordered the substitution of a 
form which required the person to place his hand on the Bible. This was 
particularly repugnant to the Puritans, who regarded it as " Popish prac- 
tice." Probate fees were increased twenty-fold. The holders of lands 
were told that their titles were invalid because obtained under a charter 

wliich had been de- 
clared forfeited. No 
person was allowed to 
leave the colony with- 
out a pass signed by 
the governor. The 
Puritan magistrates 
and ministers were re- 
fused authority to unite 
persons in marriage. 
The clergyman of the 
Church of England, 
stationed at Boston, 
was the only person in 
New England w h o 
could perform a legal marriage. Episcopacy was formally established, 
and the people were required to build a church for its uses. At the 
command of the king a tax of a penny in the pound, and a poll-tax of 
twenty pence, was imposed upon every person in the colony without 
regard to his means, rich and poor being taxed alike. Some of the towns 
had the boldness to refuse to pay this tax, and John "Wise, the minister 
of Ipswich, advised his fellow-townsmen to resist it. He and a number 
of others were arrested and fined. AVhen they pleaded their privileges 
under the laws of England, they were told by one of the council : " You 
have no privilege left you but not to be sold as slaves." "Do you 
think," asked one of the judges, "that the laws of England follow you 
to the ends of the earth?" The iniquitous exactions of Andros and his 




AVADSWORTH HIDING THE CHARTER. 



NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE RESTORATION. 



213 



associates threatened the country with ruin. When the magistrates men- 
tioned this, they were told, " It is not for his majesty's interest you 
should thrive." " The governor invaded liberty and property after such 
a manner," wrote Increase Mather, " as no man could say anything was 
his own." 

The other colonies came in for their share of bad treatment. Soon 
after he reached Boston, Andros demanded of the authorities of Rhode 
Island the surrender of their charter. Governor Clarke declined to 
comply with this demand, and Andros went to Providence, broke the seal 
of the colony, and declared its government dissolved. He appointed a 
commission irresponsible to the people for the government of Rhode 
Island, and then had the effrontery to declare that the people of that 
colony were satisfied with what he had done. 

In October Andros went to Connecticut Avith an armed guard to take 
possession of the government of 
that colony. He reached Hart- 
ford on the 31st of the month, 
and found the legislature in ses- 
sion, and demanded of that body 
the surrender of the charter. 
The discussion was prolonged 
until evening, and then candles 
were brought, and the charter 
w^as placed on the table. Sud- 
denly the lights were extin- 
guished, and when they were 
re-lighted the charter could not 
be found. It had been secured by Joseph Wadsworth of Hartford, and 
carried to the southern part of the city, where it was concealed in a hol- 
low oak tree, which was afterwards known as the "Charter Oak." 
Andros, furious at the disappearance of the charter, was not to be balked 
in his purpose of seizing the colonial government, and taking the record 
book of the assembly, he wrote the word ''Finis " at the end of the last 
day's proceedings. He then declared the colonial government at an end, 
and proceeded to administer the affairs of the province in the spirit in 
which he had governed Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 

The people of New England had borne these outrages with a patience 
which no one had expected of them. They were a law-abiding people, 
and wished to exhaust all legal means of redress before proceeding to 
extreme measures for their protection ; but the party in favor of driving 
Andros and his fellow-plunderers out of the country was rapidly growing 




THE CHARTER OAK. 



214 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

stronger, and it was not certain how much longer the policy of forbearance 
would be continued. Increase Mather was appointed to go to England and 
endeavor to procure a redress of the grievances of the colonies. It was a 
dangerous mission, for the king was in full sympathy with the men whom 
he had placed over the liberties of New England. It was also difficult 
to leave America without the knowledge of Andros and his colleagues, 
but Mather succeeded in escaping their vigilance, and was on his way to 
the old world when relief arrived from a most unexpected quarter. 

The effi)rts of James to bring about the re-establishment of the Roman 
Catholic religion in England roused the whole English nation against 
him, and in 1689 the nation invited William, Prince of Orange, the hus- 
band of James' eldest daughter, Mary, to come over to England and 
assume the throne. James, left without any adherents, fled to France, 
and William and Mary were securely seated upon the throne. 

The news of the landing of William in England and the flight of 
King James reached Boston on the 4th of April, 1689. The messenger 
was at once imprisoned by Andros, but his tidings soon became known 
to the citizens. On the morning of the 18th the people of Boston took 
up arms, and having secured the person of the commander of the royal 
frigate in the harbor, seized the royalist sheriff*. The militia were assem- 
bled, and Andros and his companions were obliged to take refuge in the 
fort. Simon Bradstreet, the governor who had held office at the time of 
the abrogation of the charter, was called upon by the people to resume 
his post, and the old magistrates were reinstated and organized as a 
council of safety. Andros and his creatures attempted to escape to the 
frigate, but were prevented and were compelled to surrender. The next 
day reinforcements came pouring into Boston from the other settlements, 
and the fort was taken and the frigate mastered. Town meetings were 
now held tliroughout the colony, and it was voted to resume the former 
charter. The people were almost unanimous in favor of this course, but 
the counsels of a more timid minority prevailed, and the council, which 
had appointed itself to the control of affairs, decided to solicit a new 
charter from AVilliam and Mary. A general court M'as convened on the 
22d of May. The people of the colony were anxious that Andros, 
Dudley, and Randolph should receive prompt punishment for their 
offences, but the authorities wisely determined to send them to England 
for trial. 

Plymouth, upon the receipt of the news from Boston, seized the agent 
of Andros, imprisoned liim, and re-established the government Avhich 
Andros had overthrown, under the constitution signed on board the 
" Mayflower." There were none of the old Pilgrim fathers living to 



NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE ^EESTOBATION. 215 

witness this event, but their children were none the less determined to 
maintain unimpaired the liberties they had inherited from them. 

Rhode Island promptly resumed her charter and reinstated the officers 
whom Andros had displaced. Connecticut, upon hearing of the downfall 
of the governor-general, brought out her charter from its hiding-place, 
and restored the old officers to their positions. 

Thus the work of James II. was overthrown, and the destinies of New 
England were once more in the hands of her own people. The genera- 
tion that had settled New England had nearly all been gathered to their 
rest, and their children were in some respects diffijrent from the fathers. 
They had learned lessons of toleration, and had acquired many of the 
refining graces that the elder Puritans regarded as mere vanity. They 
retained, however, the earnest and lofty virtues which had made the first 
generation superior to hardships and trials of all kinds, and which had 
enabled them in the face of every discouragement to lay the foundations 
of the great commonwealths which to-day cherish their memories as their 
most precious legacies. The fathers of New England richly merited the 
honor which succeeding generations have delighted to bestow upon their 
memories. However they may have erred, they were men who earnestly 
sought to do right in all things, and who did their duty fearlessly accord- 
ing to the light before them. 

In the first generation we have noticed an extraordinary degree of 
influence exerted by the ministers. This was due to no desire of the 
Puritans to connect church and state, but was owing to the fact that the 
ministers represented the best educated and most intellectual class of 
that day, and the people regarded them as the best qualified guides in 
the community. As New England advanced in prosperity her schools 
and colleges were able to turn out numbers of educated men, who 
embraced the other learned professions, and divided the influence with 
the ministers. New England always chose its leaders from among its 
most intelligent men, and its people always yielded a willing homage to 
the claims of intellect. 

At the downfall of Andros there were about two hundred thousand 
white inhabitants in the English colonies of North America. Of these, 
Massachusetts, including Plymouth and Maine, had about forty-four 
thousand ; New Hampshire and Rhode Island about six thousand each ; 
Connecticut about twenty 'thousand ; making the total population of New 
England about seventy-six thousand. 




CHAPTER XV. 

WITCHCRAFT IN MASSACHUSETTS. 

Results of the Failure of Massachusetts to Resume her Charter — The New Charter — Loss 
of tlie Liberties of the Colony — Union of Plymouth with ^lassachusetts Bay — Belief in 
Witchcraft — The History of AVitchcraft in Massachusetts — The Case of the Goodwin 
Ciiildren — Cotton Mather espouses the Cause of the Witches — Samuel Parris — He 
Originates the Salem Delusion — A Strange History — A Special Court Appointed for tlie 
Trial of the Witches — The Victims — Execution of the Rev. George Burroughs — Cotton 
Mather's Part in the Tragedies — The General Court takes Action in behalf of the 
People — End of the Persecution — Failure of Cotton Mather's Attempt to Save his Credit. 

HE decision of the magistrates of Massachusetts to disregard the 
wishes of a majority of the people of the colony, who desired an 
immediate restoration of the government under the old charter, 
and to wait for a new charter from William and Mary, gave 
great offence to the popular party. Had the wish of this party 
been promptly complied with, Massachusetts might have recovered every 
liberty and privilege of which she had been deprived by King James. 
Increase Mather distinctly declares that " had they at that time entered 
upon the full exercise of their charter government, as their undoubted 
right, wise men in England were of opinion that they might have gone 
on without disturbance." The self-constituted government hesitated, 
however, and the opportunity was lost. 

When the convention of the people met, in INIay, 1689, they refused to 
acknowledge the council that had taken charge of affairs upon the down- 
fall of Andros, and demanded that the governor, deputy governor, and 
assistants elected in 1686 should be restored to office. The council 
refused to comply with this demand, and the matter was referred to the 
people, who sustained their representatives. A compromise was effected, 
and the council agreed to permit the officers of 1686 to resume their 
places until instructions could be received from England. Agents were 
sent to England to solicit a restoration of the charter, and their a})])cal 
Avas supported by the English Presbyterians ■with great unanimity. 
Even the Archbishop of Cauterbury urged the king " not to take away 
from the people of New England any of the privileges which Charles I. 
had granted them." 
216 



WITCHCRAFT IN MASSACHUSETTS. 21 '7 

In spite of tlie pressure exerted upon him in behalf of the colony, 
King William granted to Massachusetts a charter which placed the 
liberties of the province so entirely at the mercy of the crown that the 
colonial agent refused to accept it. There was no help for it, however, 
and the charter became the fundamental law of Massachusetts. Under 
the old charter the governor of Massachusetts had been elected annually 
by the votes of the freemen ; he was now to be appointed by the king 
and to serve during the royal pleasure. He was given power to summon 
the general court, and to adjourn pr dissolve that body. The election of 
magistrates of all kinds, which had been confided to the people by the 
old charter, was taken from them, and henceforth tliese officials were to 
be appointed by the governor with the consent of the council. The old 
charter had made the decision of the colonial courts final ; the new per- 
mitted appeals from these tribunals to the privy council in England. 
The old charter had given to the general court full powers of legislation ; 
the new conferred upon the governor the right to veto any of its measures, 
and reserved to the crown the power of cancelling any act of colonial 
legislation within three years after its passage. The council was at first 
appointed by the king, but was subsequently elected by the joint ballot 
of the two branches of the general court. 

To compensate the people for the loss of their political power the king 
greatly enlarged the limits of the colony. Massachusetts and Plymouth 
were united in one province, the name of the former being given to the 
whole. The Elizabeth islands were also added to the province, and its 
northern boundary was extended to the St. Lawrence. Toleration was 
granted to every religious sect except the Roman Catholics. New 
Hampshire was separated from the jurisdiction of Massachusetts and 
made a separate province ; but Maine and the vast wilderness beyond it 
were confirmed to the Bay colony. The charter bore the date of October 
7th, 1691. Upon the nomination of Increase Mather, one of the 
colonial agents, Sir William Phipps, a native of New England, a well- 
meaning but incompetent man, who was in religious matters strongly 
inclined to superstition, was appointed governor of Massachusetts. 
William Stoughton, " a man of cold affections, proud, self-willed, and 
covetous of distinction " — a man universally hated by the people — was 
appointed deputy governor to please Cotton Mather. The members of 
the council were chosen entirely for their devotion " to the interests of the 
churches." 

While these matters were in progress of settlement, there occurred in 
Massachusetts one of the most singular delusions recorded in history, and 
which was in some respects the last expiring effort of ecclesiastical am- 



218 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

bitioii to coutrol the political affairs of the colony. The clergy had 
always sought iu New England, as in other lands, to fight their political 
enemies with spiritual Aveapons. They now carried this to an extreme 
which taught the people of New England a lesson that was not soon 
forgotten. 

The belief in witchcrafl has not been confined to any single nation, 
and at this time was common to America and Europe. " The people did 
not rally to the error ; they accepted the superstition only because it had 
not yet been disengaged from religion." It was believed that as 
Christians were united with God by a solemn covenant, so were witclies 
leagued with the devil by a tie which, once formed, they could not dis- 
solve. Those M^ho thus placed themselves in the archfiend's power were 
used by him as instruments to torment their fellow-men. They were 
given power to annoy tliem by pinching them, thrusting invisible pins 
into them, pulling their hair, afflicting them with disease, killing their 
cattle and chickens with mysterious ailments, upsetting their wagons and 
carts; and by practising upon them many other puerile and ludicrous 
tricks. The witches generally exerted their arts upon those whom they 
hated, but it was a matter of doubt how many persons were included in 
their, dislikes. One of the most popular superstitions Avas that of the 
" AVitches' sacrament," a gathering at which the devil, in the form of 
" a small black man," presided, and required his followers to renounce 
their Christian baptism and to sign their names in his book. They 
were then re-baptized by the devil, and the meeting Avas closed with 
horrid rites which varied in different narratives according to the imagin- 
ation of the relators. 

The belief in the existence of witchcrafl was held by some of the 
leading minds of this period. Sir Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice of 
England, was firmly convinced of the truth of the doctrine, and it was 
advocated by many of the clergy in England. In New England the 
clergy held it to be heresy to deny the existence of witches, Avhich they 
claimed was clearly taught in the Scriptures. It was evidently to their 
interest to maintain this belief, as it made them the chief authorities in 
such cases, and furnished them with a powerful weapon against their 
adversaries. 

By the early settlers of New England the Indians were supposed to 
be worshippers of the devil, and their medicine-men to be wizards. 
Governor Hutchinson, in his " History of Massachusetts," thus sums up 
the cases of supposed witchcraft that had occurred in the colony previous 
to the time of which we are now writing : 

" The first suspicion of M'itchcrafl among the English was about the 



WITCHCRAFT IN MASSACHUSETTS. 219 

year 1645, at Springfield, upon Connecticut river ; several persons werfe 
supposed to be under an evil hand, and among the rest two of the 
minister's children. Great pains were taken to prove the facts upon 
several of the 2)ersons charged with the crime, but either the nature of 
the evidence was not satisfactory, or the fraud was suspected, and so no 
person was convicted until the year 1650, when a poor wretch, Mary 
Oliver, probably weary of her life from the general reputation of being 
a witch, after long examination, was brought to confession of her guilt, 
but I do not find that she was executed. Whilst this inquiry was 
making, Margaret Jones was executed at Charlestown ; and Mr. Hale 
mentions a woman at Dorchester, and another at Cambridge about the 
same time, Avho all at their death asserted their innocence. Soon after, 
Hugh Parsons was tried at Springfield, and escaped death. In 1655 
INIrs. Hibbins, the assistant's widow, was hanged at Boston. In 1662, at 
Hartford in Connecticut, one Ann Cole, a young woman who lived next 
door to a Dutch family, and no doubt had learned something of the 
.language, Avas supposed to be possessed with demons, who sometimes 
spoke Dutch and sometimes English, and sometimes a language which 
nobody understood, and who held a conference with one another. 
Several ministers who were present took down the conference in writing 
and the names of several persons, mentioned in the course of the con- 
ference, as actors or bearing parts in it ; particularly a woman, then in 
prison upon suspicion of witchcraft, one Greensmith, who upon examin- 
ation confessed and appeared to be surprised at the discovery. She 
owned that she and the others named had been familiar with a demon, 
who had carnal knowledge of her, and although she had not made a 
formal covenant, yet she had promised to be ready at his call, and was to 
have had a high frolic at Christmas, when the agreement was to have 
been signed. Upon this confession she was executed, and two more of 
the company were condemned at the same time. In 1669 Susanna 
Martin, of Salisbury, was bound over to the court upon suspicion of 
witchcraft, but escaped at that time. 

"In 1671 Elizabeth Knap, another veniriloqua, alarmed the people of 
Groton in much the same manner as Ann Cole had done those of Hart- 
ford; but her demon was not so cunning, for, instead of confining himself 
to old women, he railed at the good minister of the town and other 
people of good character, and the people could not then be prevailed on 
to believe him, but believed the girl when she confessed that she had 
been deluded, and that the devil had tormented her in the shape of 
good persons; so she escaped the punishment due to her fraud and 
imposture. 



220 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

" In 1673 Eunice Cole of Hampton was tried, and the jury found her 
not legally guilty, but that there were strong grounds to suspect her of 
familiarity with the devil. 

"In 1679 William Morse's house, at Newbury, was troubled with the 
throwing of bricks, stones, etc., and a boy of the family was supposed to 
be bewitched, who accused one of the neighbors; and in 1682 the house 
of George Walton, a Quaker, at Portsmouth, and another house at 
Salmon Falls (both in New Hamjishire), were attacked after the same 
manner. 

"In 1683 the demons removed to Connecticut river again, where one 
Desborough's house was molested by an invisible hand, and a fire 
kindled, nobody knew how, which burnt up a great part of his estate ; 
and in 1684 Philip Smith, a judge of the court, a military officer and a 
representative of the town of Iladley, upon the same river (a hypochon- 
driac person), fancied himself under an evil hand, and suspected a 
woman, one of his neighbors, and languished and pined away, and was 
generally supposed to be bewitched to death. While he lay ill, a number 
of brisk lads tried an experiment upon the old woman. Having dragged 
her out of her house, they hung her up until she was near dead, let her 
down, rolled her some time in the snow, and at last buried her in it 
and left her there, but it happened that she survived and the melancholy 
man died." 

These cases, which were not generally regarded in the enlightened 
spirit of the writer we have quoted, served to confirm the common belief 
in witchcraft. Increase Mathei> published a work in 1684 containing an 
acceunt of the cases which had already occurred in the colony, and giving 
detailed descriptions of the manner in which the afflicted persons had 
exhibited their "deviltry." The publication of this work seemed to 
revive the trouble and in a more aggravated form, for it is a singular fact 
that the general discussion of delusions of this kind rarely fails to pro- 
duce an increase of the evil. 

In 1688 a case occurred which excited general interest, and Avas the 
beginning of one of the saddest periods in the history of New England. 
The daughter of John Goodwin, a child of thirteen years, accused the 
daughter of an Irish laundress of stealing some linen. The mother 
of the laundress, a friendless emigrant, succeeded in disproving the 
charge, and abused the girl soundly for making a false accusation. 
Soon after this, the accuser was seized with a fit, and pretended to be 
bewitched hi order to be revenged upon the poor Irish woman. Her 
younger sister and two of hgr brothers followed her example. They 
pretended to be dumb, then deaf, then blind, and then all three at once. 



WITCHCRAFT IN MASSACHUSETTS. 221 

" They were strnck dead at the sight of the 'Assembly's Catechism/ " 
says Governor Hutchinson, dryly, " ' Cotton's Milk for Babes ' and some 
other good books, but could read in Oxford jests, popish and Quaker 
books, and the common prayer without any difficulty." Nevertheless 
their appetite was good, and they slept soundly at night. The youngest 
of these little impostors was less than five years old. It was at once 
given out that the Goodwin children were bewitched, and no one sus- 
pected or hinted at the fraud. They would bark like dogs and mew 
like cats, and a physician who was called in to treat them solemnly 
declared that they were possessed by devils, as he discovered many of 
the symptoms laid down in Increase Mather's book. A conference 
of the four ministers of Boston, and one from Charlestown, was held at 
Goodwin's house, where they observed a day of fasting and prayer. 
As a result of their efforts, the youngest child, a boy of less than five 
years, was delivered of his evil spirit. The ministers now had no doubt 
that the children had been bewitched, and as the little ones accused the 
Irish woman of their misfortune, she was arrested, tried for witchcraft, 
convicted and hanged, notwithstanding that many persons thought the 
poor creature a lunatic. 

Among the ministers who had investigated this case and had procured 
the execution of the woman was Cotton Mather, the son of Increase 
INIather, then president of Harvard college. He was a young man who 
had but recently entered the ministry, and was regarded as one of the 
most learned and gifted preachers in the colony. He was withal a man 
of overweening vanity, and full of ambition. He could not bear con- 
tradiction, and was devoted to the maintenance of the political power 
of the clergy. He was superstitious by nature, and was firmly con- 
vinced of the reality of witchcraft. He had become deeply interested 
in the case of the Goodwin children, and in order to study it more 
deeply took the eldest girl to his house, where he could observe and 
experiment upon her devil at his leisure. She was a cunning creature, and 
soon found that it was to her interest to humor the young pastor in his 
views, and she played upon his weakness with a shrewdness and skill 
which were remarkable in one so young, and exhibit the credulity of the 
investigator in a most pitiable light. 

Mather carried on his experiments with a diligence which would have 
seemed ludicrous had its object been less baneful to the community. He 
read the Bible, and prayed aloud in the presence of the girl, who would 
pretend to be thrown into a fit by the pious exercise. At the same time 
she read the Book of Common Prayer, or Quaker or Popish treatises, 
without any interruption from her familiar spirits. The minister then 



222 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tested the proficiency of the devil in languages, by reading aloud pas- 
sages of the Bible in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, which the girl professed 
to understand. When he tried her with an Indian dialect, however, she 
could not comprehend him. By other experiments, designed to ascertain 
if the spirits could read the thoughts of others, Mather came to the 
sage conclusion that " all devils are not alike sagacious." The girl flat- 
tered his vanity, and lulled his suspicion of fraud by telling him that his 
own person was especially protected against the evil spirits by the power 
of God, and that the devils did not dare to enter his study. 

The vanity of Cotton ISIather was elated to the highest pitch by what he 
deemed his successful experiments, and he wrote a book upon witchcraft, 
in which he endeavored to prove the truth of his theories, and declared 
that he should esteem it a personal insult if any one should hereafter ven- 
ture to deny the existence of witchcraft. His book M'as reprinted in 
London, with a preface by Richard' Baxter, the well-known author of 
" The Saints' Rest," warmly indorsing it. It was very generally read in 
New England, and had a most pernicious effect upon the people by in- 
ducing them to give credit to the stories of the writer rather than to 
listen to the promptings of their own good sense. Still there \yere some 
in Boston who had the boldness to differ with Mather, and these the 
indignant divine denounced as " sadducees." Mather supported his views 
by his sermons. " There are multitudes of sadducees in our day," he 
declared. "A devil in the apprehension of these mighty acute philoso- 
phers is no more than a quality or a distemper. . . . Men counted it wis- 
dom to credit nothing but what they say and feel. They never saw 
any witches ; therefore there are none." The ministers of Boston and 
Charlestown gave their young colleague their hearty support, and de- 
clared that those who doubted the existence of witchcraft were guilty of 
atheism, and indorsed Mather's book as proving clearly that " there is 
both a God and a devil, and witchcraft." Thus did the clergy of ]\Ias- 
sachusetts set themselves to the task of forcing their own narrow views 
upon the people. It was a needed lesson. New England had passed the 
time when clerical rule in political affairs could be productive of good, 
and was now to be taught the danger of permitting it to extend beyond 
this period. 

At this juncture INIather's power was greatly strengthened by the 
appointment of his friend and parishioner, Sir William Phipps, as gov- 
ernor of the province, and the nomination of his father-in-law and many 
of his intimate friends to the council. The ambitious Stoughton, the 
deputy governor, was also subject to his influence. Here was a fine 
opportunity to endeavor to establish the power of iho. clergy upon tlie 



WITCHCRAFT IN MASSACHUSETTS. 223 

old foundations which were being destroj'^ed by the growing intelligence 
and independence of the people. Many of the ministers, under the lead 
of Cotton Mather, had committed themselves to the doctrine of witchcraft, 
and the people must accept it upon their simple assertion. No inquiry 
must be allowed into the matter, the opinions of the ministers must be 
adopted by the laity. And so Mather and his followers resorted to the 
usual weapons of suj^erstition to accomplish the success of their plans. 

In 1692 a new case of witchcraft occurred in Salem village, now the 
town of Danvers. The minister of this place was Samuel Parris, 
between whom and a number of his people there had for some time 
existed dissensions of such a bitter nature that the attention of the gen- 
eral court had been directed to them. In February, 1692, the daughter 
and niece of Parris, the former a child of nine years, and the latter of 
less than twelve, gave signs of being bewitched. Parris at once recog- 
nized the opportunity which was thus offered him for vengeance upon his 
enemies, and deliberately availed himself of it. He demanded of the 
children the names of the persons Avho had bewitched them, and then 
proceeded to accuse those whom he succeeded in inducing the girls to 
denounce. The first victim was Rebecca Nurse. She was known in the 
community as a woman of exemphiry Christian character ; but she was 
one of the most resolute opponents of Parris. Upon his accusation slie 
was arrested and imprisoned. The next Sunday Parris preached a ser- 
mon from the text, " Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a 
devil." As it was evident that his remarks were to be directed against 
Mistress Nurse, Sarah Cloyce, a sister of the accused, at once left the 
church. This in itself was a serious offence in those days, and Parris 
took advantage of it to accuse the offender of witchcraft, and she was 
sent to join her sister in prison. Mather, who deemed his credit at stake, 
lent his active aid to the persecution of these unfortunate people, and had 
the vanity to declare that he regarded the efforts of " the evil angels u2)on 
the country as a particular defiance unto himself." Parris scattered his 
accusations right and left, becoming both inforiuer and witness against 
those whom he meant to destroy for their opposition to him. In a fcAV 
weeks nearly one hundred persons were in prison upon the charge of 
witchcraft. Abigail Williams, Parris's niece, aided her uncle with her 
tales, which the least examination would have shown to be absurd. 
George Burroughs, one of the ministers of Salem, had long been re- 
garded by Parris as a rival, and he now openly expressed his disbelief in 
witchcraft, and his disapproval of the measures against those charged 
with that offence. This boldness sealed his doom. He was accused by 
Parris, and committed to prison " with the rest of the witches." " The 



224 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

gallows was to be set up, not for those who professed themselvas witches, 
but for those who rebuked the delusion." 

Governor Bradstreet, who had been chosen by the people, was unwill- 
ing to proceed to extreme measures against the accused, as he had no 
faith in the evidence against them. The arrival of the royal governor 
and the new charter in Boston in INIay, 1692, placed Cotton Mather and 
his fellow-persecutors in a position to carry out their bloody designs. 
The general court alone had authority to appoint special courts, but Gov- 
ernor Phipps did not hesitate to appoint one himself for the trial of the 
accused persons at Salem, and this illegal tribunal, with Stoughton as its 
chief judge, met at Salem on the 2d of June. In this court Parris acted 
as prosecutor, keeping back some witnesses, and pushing others forward 
as best suited his plans. 

The first victim of the court was Bridget Bishop, " a poor, friendless 
old Avoman." Parris, who liad examined her at the time of her commit- 
ment, was the principal witness against her. Deliverance Hobbs being 
also accused, a natural infirmity of her body was taken as a proof of her 
guilt, and she Avas hanged, protesting her innocence. Rebecca Nurse 
■\vas at first acquitted of the charges against her, but the court refused to 
receive the verdict of the jury, and Parris was determined that the 
woman against whom he had preached and prayed should not escape him, 
and the jury were induced to convict her, and she was hanged. John 
Willard, who had been compelled by his duty as a constable to arrest the 
accused, now refused to serve in this capacity any longer, as he had 
become convinced of the hypocrisy of the instigators of the persecution. 
He was immediately denounced, tried, and hanged. 

When George Burroughs, the minister, was placed on trial the wit- 
nesses produced against him pretended to be dumb. " Who hinders these 
witnesses from giving their testimonies?" asked Stoughton, the chief 
judge. " I suppose the devil," re])lied Burroughs, contemptuously. 
"How comes the devil," cried Stoughton, exultingly, "so loath to liavc 
any testimony borne against you?" The Avords of the prisoner were 
regarded as a confession, and his remarkable bodily strength was made 
an evidence of his guilt. He was convicted, and sentenced to be hanged. 
He was executed on the 19th of August with four othei-s. As he ascended 
the scaffold Burroughs made an ai)i)eal to the people assembled to witness 
the execution, and effectually vindicated himself from the absurd charges 
against him, and repeated the Lord's prayer, M'hich was regarded as a 
test of innocence. The spectators were powerfully affected, and seemed 
about to interfere in favor of the victim. Cotton Mather, who was ])res- 
ent on horseback, now exerted liimsclf to complete the judicial murder. 



WITCHCRAFT IN MASSACHUSETTS. 225 

He harangued the people, insisted on the guilt of Burroughs, reminding 
them that the devil could sometimes assume the form of an angel of 
light, and even descended to the falsehood of declaring that Burroughs 
was no true minister, as his ordination was not valid. His appeal was 
successful, and the execution was completed. 

Giles Cory, an old man over eighty years of age, seeing that no denial 
of guilt availed anything, refused to plead, and was pressed to death, in 
accordance with an old English law, long obsolete, which was revived to 
meet his case. Samuel Wardwell confessed his guilt, and escaped the 
gallows. Overcome with shame for his cowardice, he retracted his con- 
fession, and was hanged for denying witchcraft. A reign of terror pre- 
vailed in Salem ; the prisons were full ; and no one could feel sure how 
long he would escape accusation and arrest. Many persons confessed 
their guilt to save their lives. Children accused their parents, parents 
their children, and husbands and wives each other of the most impossible 
offences, in the hope of escaping the persecution themselves. Hale, the 
minister of Beverley, was a zealous advocate of the persecution until the 
bitter cup was presented to his own lips by the accusation of his wife. 
Many persons were obliged to fly the colony, and the magistrates, con- 
scious that they were already exceeding their powers, were careful not to 
demand their surrender. 

We have mentioned only some of the principal cases to show the char- 
acter of the persecution, as our limits forbid the relation of all. The 
total number hanged was twenty; fifty-five were tortured or terrified into 
confessions of guilt. The accusations were at first lodged against persons 
of humble station, but at length reached the higher classes. Governor 
Phipps' wife and two sons of Governor Bradford are said to have been 
among the accused. " Insanity," says Judge Story, " could hardly devise 
more refinements in barbarity, or profligacy execute them with more malig- 
nant coolness." Every principle of English justice was violated to secure 
the condemnation of the accused, and people were encouraged by the magis- 
trates to accuse others as a means of securing the favor of the authorities. 

These terrible deeds were not the work of the people of Massachusetts, 
and under a popular government would have been impossible; for 
though the belief in witchcraft was general, the sentiment of the people 
was against the barbarity of the court. The Salem tragedies were the 
work of a few men, not one of whom was responsible in any way to the 
people. "Of the magistrates at that time, not one held office by the 
suffrage of the people ; the tribunal, essentially despotic in its origin, as 
in its character, had no sanction but an extraordinary and an illegal com- 
mission ; and Stoughton, the chief judge, a partisan of Andros, had been 
15 



226 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

rejected by the people of Massachusetts. The responsibility of the 
tragedy, far from attaching to the people of the colony, rests with the 
very few, hardly five or six, in whose hands the transition state of the 
government lefl for a season unlimited influence. Into the interior of 
the colony the delusion did not spread at all." * 

Stoughton's court, having hanged twenty of its victims, adjourned 
about the last of September, 1692, until November, and on the 18th of 
October the general court met. The indignation of the people had been 
gathering force, and men were determined to put a stop to the judicial 
murders and tortures which had disgraced them so long. Remonstrances 
were at once presented to the assembly against " the doings of the witch 
tribunals," the people of Andover leading the way in this effort. The 
assembly abolished the special court, and established a tribunal by public 
law. It was ordered that this court should not meet until the following 
January. The governor attempted to undo the work of the assembly 
by appointing Stoughton chief judge of the new court. When that 
tribunal met at Salem in January, 1693, it was evident that the public 
mind had undergone a marked change. The influence of the leaders of 
the delusion was at an end. The grand jury rejected the majority of the 
presentments offered to it, and when those who were indicted were put on 
trial, the jury brought in verdicts of acquittal in all but three cases. The 
governor, now alive to the force of public sentiment, reprieved all who 
were under sentence to the great disgust of Stoughton, who left the bench 
in a rage when informed of this action. The persecutors, anxious to 
cover their defeat by the execution of one more victim, employed all their 
arts to procure the conviction of a woman of Charlestown, who was com- 
monly believed to be a witch. ^They supported their charge by more 
important evidence than had been presented in any case at Salem, but the 
jury at once returned a verdict of " not guilty." 

Cotton Mather was intensely mortified by the failure of his efforts to 
force the people into a general acceptance of his views. He got up a 
case of witchcraft in Boston, but was careful to caution his possessed 
people to refrain from accusing any one of bewitching them. Robert 
Calef, an unlettered man, but one whose common sense could not be led 
astray by Mather, promptly exposed the imposture in a pamphlet, which 
effectually destroyed Mather's influence for harm. Mather, unable to 
reply to him, denounced him as an enemy of religion, and complained 
that Calef 's book was " a libel upon the whole government and ministry 
of the land," forgetting that only seven or eight ministers, and no magis- 
trate commanding the confidence of the people, had any share in the 

* Bancroft's Hiitory of the United Slates, vol. iii., p. 88. 



WITCHCRAFT IN MASSACHUSETTS. 227 

tragedies. Calef continued his writings, however, undismayed by the 
indignation of his adversary, and his book was finally published in Eng- 
land, where it attracted considerable attention. 

The danger was now over. It was no longer possible to procure a 
conviction for witchcraft. The indignant people of Salem village at once 
drove the wretched Parris and his family from the place. Noyes, the 
minister of Salem, who had been active in the persecutions, was com- 
pelled to ask the forgiveness of the people, after a public confession of his 
error. The devotion of the rest of his life to works of charity won him 
the pardon he sought. Sewall, one of the judges, struck with horror at 
the part he had played in the persecution, made an open and frank con- 
fession of his error, and implored the forgiveness of his fellow-citizens. 
His sincerity was so evident that he soon regained the favor he had lost. 
Stoughton passed the remainder of his life in proud and haughty disre- 
gard of the opinion of his fellow-men, scorning to make any acknowl- 
edgment of error, and evincing no remorse for his cruelties. 

As for the prime mover of the delusion, the Rev. Cotton Mather, 
nothing could induce him to admit that he could by any possibility have 
been in error ; not even the recollection of the sorrow he had brought 
upon some of the best people in the colony could shake his impenetrable 
self-conceit, or humble him. When it was plain to him that he was the 
object of the indignation of all good men in New England, he had the 
hardihood to endeavor to persuade them that after all he had not been 
specially active in the sad affair. " Was Cotton Mather honestly credu- 
lous ? " asks Bancroft. " Ever ready to dupe himself, he limited his 
credulity only by the probable credulity of others. He changes, or omits 
to repeat, his statements, without acknowledging error, and with a clear 
intention of conveying false impressions. He is an example how far 
selfishness, under the form of vanity and ambition, can blind the higher 
faculties, stupefy the judgment, and dupe consciousness itself. His self- 
righteousness was complete till he was resisted." 

And yet this man was not to die without rendering to the country a 
genuine service. In 1721, having become satisfied that inoculation was 
a sure preventive of small-pox, he advocated the introduction of it into 
the colony. He was opposed by the whole body of the clergy, who de- 
clared that it was an attempt to defeat the plans of the Almighty, who 
" sent the small-pox as a punishment for sins, and whose vengeance would 
thus be only provoked the more." The people of the colony were also 
bitterly opposed to inoculation, and threatened to hang Mather if he did 
not cease his advocacy of it. His life was at one time in serious danger, but 
he persevered, and at length had the satisfaction of seeing the practice of 
inoculation generally adopted by the people who had so hotly opposed it. 



CHAPTER XYI. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 

Voyages of Henry Hudson — He is Employed by the Dutch — Discovery of the Hudson 
Biver — Early Dutch Voyages — Adrian Block — Fate of Hudson — The Dutch build a 
Fort on Manhattan Island — Settlement of New Amsterdam — The Province named New 
Netherlands — Fort Nassau — Peter Minuits Governor — The Dutch Settlement of Dela- 
ware — Wouter Van Twiller — Kieft Governor — His Unjust Treatment of the Indians — 
^Massacre of the Indians at Hoboken — The Indian War — Stuyvesant Appointed Governor 
— Disputes with the English in Connecticut — The Swedes Settle Delaware — Stuyvesant 
Captures the Swedish Forts — Growth of New Amsterdam — Disputes between the People 
and Governor — Growing Spirit of Popular Liberty — The People Appeal to the States 
General — Capture of New Netherlands by the English — The Name of the Province 
changed to New York — Results of the English Conquest — Progress of New Jersey — 
Andros Governor of New York — He Fails to Establish his Authority over Connecticut 
— New York allowed an Assembly — Discontents of the People — Leisler's Kebellion — 
Execution of Leisler and Milbourne — Fletcher Governor — His Attempt to obtain 
Command of tlie Connecticut Militia — Episcopacy Established in New York — The 
Freedom of the Press Sustained — New Jersey a Royal Province. 

I HEN the hope of finding a northwest passage to India began to 
die out, a company of " certain worshipful merchants " of London 
employed Henry Hudson, an Englishman and an experienced 
navigator, to go in search of a northeast passage to India, around 
the Arctic shores of Europe, between Lapland and Nova Zembla 
and frozen Spitsbergen. These worthy gentlemen were convinced that 
since the eifort to find a northwest passage had failed, nothing remained 
but to search for a northrasi passage, and they were sure that if human 
skill or energy could find it, Hudson would succeed in his mission. 
They were not mistaken in their man, for in two successive voyages he 
did all that mortal could do to penetrate the ice-fields beyond tlie North 
Cape, but without success. An impassable barrier of ice held him back, 
and he was forced to return to London to confess his failure. With 
unconquerable hope, he suggested new means of overcoming the difficul- 
ties ; but while his employers praised his zeal and skill, they declined to 
go to further expense in an undertaking which promised so little, and the 
" bold Englishman, the expert pilot, and the famous navigator " found 
himself out of employment. Every effort to secure aid in England 
228 




SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 



229 



failed him, and, thoroughly disheartened, he passed over to Holland, 
whither his fame had preceded him. 

The Dutch, who were more enterprising and more hopeful than his 
own countrymen, lent a ready ear to his statement of his plans, and the 
Dutch East India Company at once employed him, and placed him in 
command of a yacht of ninety tons, called the " Half Moon," manned by 
a picked crew. On the 25th of March, 1609, Hudson set sail in this 
vessel from Amsterdam, and steered directly for the coast of Nova 
Zembla. He succeeded in reaching the meridian of Spitzbergen ; but 
here the ice, the fogs, and the fierce tempests of the north drove him 
back, and turning to the westward, he sailed past the capes of Greenland, 
and on the 2d of July was on the banks of Newfoundland. He passed 
down the coast as far as Charleston harbor, vainly hoping to find the 
northwest passage, and then in despair turned to the northward, discover- 
ing Delaware bay on his voyage. On the 3d of September he arrived 
oif a large bay to the north of the Delaware, and passing into it, dropped 
anchor "at two cables' length 
from the shore," within Sandy 
Hook. Devoting some days to 
rest, and to the exploration of the 
bay, he passed through The Nar- 
rows on the 11th of September, 
and then the broad and beautiful 
"inner bay" burst upon him in 
all its splendor, and from the deck of his ship he watched the swift cur- 
rent of the mighty river rolling from the north to the sea. He was full 
of hope now, and the next day continued his progress up the river, and 
at nightfall cast anchor at Yonkers. During the night the current of the 
river turned his ship around, placing her head down stream ; and this 
fact, coupled with the assurances of the natives who came out to the 
" Half Moon " in their canoes, that the river came from far beyond the 
mountains, convinced him that the stream flowed from ocean to ocean, 
and that by sailing on he would at length reach India — the golden land 
of his dreams. 

Thus encouraged, he pursued his way up the river, gazing with won- 
dering delight upon its glorious scenery, and listening with gradually 
fading hope to the stories of the natives who flocked to the water to greet 
him. The stream narrowed, and the water grew fresh, and long before 
he anchored below Albany, Hudson had abandoned the belief that he was 
in the northwest passage. From the anchorage a boat's crew continued 
the voyage to the mouth of the Mohawk. Hudson was satisfied that he 




COAT OF AHMS OF NEW TOBK. 



230 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

had made a great discovery — one that was worth fully as much as finding 
the new route to India. He was in a region upon which the white man's 
eye had never rested before, and which offered the richest returns to 
commercial ventures. He hastened back to New York bay, took pos- 
session of the country in the name of Holland, and then set sail for 
Europe. He put into Dartmouth, in England, on his way back, where 
he told the story of his discovery. King James I. prevented his contin- 
uing his voyage, hoping to deprive the Dutch of its fruits ; but Hudson 
took care to send his log-book and all the ship's papers over to Holland, 
and thus placed his employers in full possession of the knowledge he had 
gained. The English at length released the " Half Moon," and she 
continued her voyage to the Texel, but without her commander. 

The discovery of Hudson was particularly acceptable to the Dutch, for 
the new country was rich in fur-bearing animals, and Russia offered a 
ready market for all the furs that could be sent there. The East India 
Company, therefore, refitted the " Half Moon " after her return to 
Holland, and despatched her to the region discovered by Hudson on a 
fur trading expedition, which was highly successful. Private persons 
also embarked in similar enterprises, and within two years a prosperous 
and important fur trade was established between Holland and the country 
along the Mauritius, as the great river discovered by Hudson had been 
named, in honor of the Stadtholder of Holland. No government took 
any notice of the trade for a while, and all persons were free to engage 
in it. 

Among the adventurers employed in this trade was one Adrian Block, 
noted as one of the boldest navigators of his time. He made a voyage to 
Manhattan island in 1614, then the site of a Dutch trading-post, and 
secured a cargo of skins, with which he was about to return to Holland, 
when a fire consumed both his vessel and her cargo, and obliged him to 
pass the winter with his crew on the island. They built them log huts 
on the site of the present Beaver street — the fii'st houses erected on the 
island — and during the winter constructed a yacht of sixteen tons, which 
Block called the " Onrust " — the " Restless." In this yacht Block made 
several voyages of discovery, and explored the coasts of Long Island 
sound, and gave his name to the small island near the eastern end of the 
sound. He soon after went back to Europe. 

In the meantime Hudson had not been permitted by the English king 
to take service again with the Dutch, and after apprising his employers 
in Holland of his discoveries, he was engaged by an English company to 
make further explorations in their behalf. He sailed to the north of his 
former route, reached the coast of Labrador, and passing through the 



SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 231 

straits, entered the bay which bears his name. He spent the remainder 
of the season in exploring its coasts, and resolved to winter there, hoping 
to push his discoveries still farther northward in the spring. In the 
spring of 1611 he found it impossible to continue his voyage, as his 
provisions had begun to run low, and with tears turned his vessel's prow 
homeward. His men now broke out into mutiny, and seizing Hudson 
and his son and four others, who were sick, they placed them in the 
shallop and set them adrift. And so the great navigator, whose memory 
is perpetuated by one of the noblest of the rivers of America, and whose 
genius gave the region through which- it flows to civilization, perished 
amid the northern seas. " The gloomy waste of waters which bears his 
name is his tomb and his monument." 

In 1614 the Dutch built a fort on the lower end of Manhattan island, 
and in the next few years established forts or trading houses along the 
river as far as Fort Orange, on the site of Albany. These were merely 
trading-posts, no effort being yet made to occupy the country with a 
permanent colony. In 1621 the Dutch West India Company was organ- 
ized for the purpose of trading with America, and took possession of the 
country along the Hudson, intending to hold it merely as temporary 
occupants. The States General of Holland granted them the monopoly 
of trade from Cape May to Nova Scotia, and named the whole region 
New Netherland. The Dutch thus extended their claims into regions " 
already claimed by the English and French, and prepared the way for 
future quarrels and complications. 

The English, now awake to the importance of Hudson's discoveries, 
warned the Dutch government to refrain from making further settle- 
ments on " Hudson's river," as they called the Mauritius ; but the latter, 
relying upon the justice of their claim, paid no attention to these warnings, 
and in the spring of 1623 the Dutch West India Company sent over 
thirty families of Walloons, or one hundred and ten persons in all, to 
found a permanent colony. These Walloons were Protestants from the 
frontier between France and Flanders, and had fled to Amsterdam to 
escape religious persecution in their own country. They were sound, 
healthy, vigorous, and pious people, and could be relied upon to make 
homes in the new world. The majority of them settled around the fort 
on the lower end of Manhattan island, and the colony was named New 
Amsterdam. The remainder established themselves on Long island, 
about where the Brooklyn navy yard now stands, and there Sarah de 
Rapelje, the first white child born in the province of New Netherlands, 
saw the light. Eighteen families ascended the river and settled around 
Fort Or an ire. 



232 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



In the same year (1623) a party under command of Cornelis Jacobsen 
May, who gave his name to the southern cape of New Jersey, ascended 
the Delaware, then called the South river, and built Fort Nassau, on the 
east side of the river a few miles below the present city of Camden. 
This was done in order to establish the claim of the Dutch to this region. 

In 1626 the West India Company sent out to New Amsterdam the 




FIRST SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 

first regular governor of the province, Peter Minuits by name. He 
brought with him a koopman, or general commissary, who was also the 
secretary of the province, and a schout, or sheriff, to assist him in his 
government. The only laws prescribed for the colony were the instruc- 
tions of the West India Company. The colonists, on their part, were to 



SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 233 

regard the orders of the governor as their law. He was authorized to 
punish minor offences at his discretion ; but cases requiring severe or 
capital punishment were to be sent to Holland for trial. Minuits set to 
work with great vigor to lay the foundations of the colony. He called a 
council of the Indian chiefs, and purchased the island of Manhattan from 
them for presents valued at about twenty-four dollars in American 
money. He thus secured an equitable title to the island and won the 
friendship of the Indians. To encourage emigration the company 
granted to each emigrant as much land as he could properly cultivate, 
and it was ordered that any member of the company who in four years 
should induce fifty persons to settle anywhere within the limits of New 
Netherland, the island of Manhattan alone excepted, should be termed 
" Patroon," or " Lord of the Manor," and should be entitled to purchase 
a tract of laud sixteen miles in length by eight in width for the support 
of this dignity. A number of persons availed themselves of this privi- 
lege, and secured from the Indians by purchase the best lands and the 
most valuable trading places in the province. Those who were inferior 
to them in wealth were of neces- 
sity compelled to become the ten- """ 

ants of the patroons, and thus a 
check was placed upon the im- 
provement of the colony. In 
order to compel the colonists to 
purchase their supplies from Hol- 
land, the company forbade them 
to manufacture even the simplest fabrics for clothing, on pain of banish- 
ment. The patroons were enjoined to provide a minister and a school- 
master* for their tenants, but no provision was made for them by the 
company, which was careful, however, to offer to furnish the patroons 
with African slaves if their use should be found desirable. 

In 1629 Samuel Godyn and Samuel Blommaert purchased from the 
Indians the region between Cape Henlopen and the mouth of the Dela- 
ware river, and in 1631 a colony of thirty souls was planted on Lewes 
creek, in the present State of Delaware. " That Delaware exists as a 
separate commonwealth is due to this colony. According to English 
rule, occupancy was necessary to complete a title to the wilderness, and 
the Dutch now occupied Delaware." Less than a year later De Vries 
came over from Holland with a reinforcement, and found only the ruins 
of the settlement, the people of which had been massacred by the Indians. 

Under the vigorous administration of Minuits New Netherland pros- 
pered ; houses were built, farms laid off; the population was largely 




COAT OF ARMS OF DELAWARE. 



234 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

increased by new arrivals from Europe. During this period New 
Amsterdam fairly entered upon its career as one of the most important 
places in America. It was a happy settlement as well ; the rights of the 
people were respected, and they were practically as free as they had been 
in Holland. Troubles with the Indians marked the close of Minuit's 
administration. The latter were provoked by the murder of some of 
their number by the whites, and by the aid rendered by the commander 
at Fort Orange to the Mohegans in one of their forays upon the Mohawks. 
Alarmed by the hostility of the savages, many of the families at Fort 
Orange, and from the region between the Hudson and the Delaware, 
abandoned their settlements and came to New Amsterdam for safety, 
thus adding to the population of that town. Minuits was recalled in 
1632, and left the province in a prosperous condition. During the last 
year of iiis government New Amsterdam sent over $60,000 worth of furs 
to Holland. 

IVIi units was succeeded by Wouter Van Twiller, a clerk in the com- 
pany's warehouse at Amsterdam, who owed his appointment to his being 
the husband of the niece of Killiau Van Rensselaer, the patroon of 
Albany. Irving has thus sketched this redoubtable governor : " He was 
exactly five feet six inches in height, and six feet five inches in circum- 
ference. His head was a perfect sphere, and of such stupendous 
dimensions that dame Nature, with all her sex's ingenuity, would have 
been puzzled to construct a neck capable of supporting it ; wherefore she 
wisely declined the attempt, and settled it firmly on the top of his back 
bone just between the shoulders. His body was oblong and particularly 
capacious at bottom, which was wisely ordered by Providence, seeing 
that he was a man of sedentary habits and very averse to the idle labor 
of M-alking. His legs were very short, but sturdy in proportion •to the 
weight they had to sustain ; so that, when erect, he had not a little the 
appearance of a beer barrel on skids. His face — that infallible index of 
the mind — presented a vast expanse, unfurrowed by any of those lines 
and anjiles Avhich disfio;ure the human countenance with what is termed 
expression. Two small gray eyes twinkled feebly in the midst, like two 
stars of lesser magnitude in a hazy firmament ; and his full-fed cheeks, 
which seemed to have taken toll of everything that went into his mouth, 
were curiously mottled and streaked with dusky red, like a Spitzenberg 
apple. Plis habits were as regular as his person. He daily took his 
four stated meals, appropriating exactly an hour to each ; he smoked and 
doubted eight hours, and he slept the remaining twelve of the four-and- 
twenty." 

Van Twiller ruled the province seven years, and, in spite of his 



SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 235 

stupidity, it prospered. In 1633 Adam Roelantsen, the first school- 
master, arrived — for the fruitful Walloons had opened the way by this 
time for his labors — and in the same year a wooden church was built in 
the present Bridge street, and placed in charge of the famous Dominie 
Everardus Bogardus. In 1635 the fort, which marked the site of the 
present Bowling Green, and which had been begun in 1614, was finished, 
and in the same year the first English settlers at New Amsterdam came 
into the town. The English in New England also began to give the 
Dutch trouble during this administration, and even sent a ship into 
"Hudson's river" to trade with the Indians. Influenced by De Vries, 
the commander of the fort, the governor sent an expedition up the river 
after the audacious English vessel, seized her, brought her back to New 
York, and sent her to sea with a warning not to repeat her attempt. 
The disputes between the English and the Dutch about the Connecticut 
settlements also began to make trouble for New Amsterdam. Van 
Twiller possessed no influence in the colony, was laughed at and snubbed 
on every side, and was at length recalled by the company in 1638. The 
only memorial of Van Twiller left to us is the Isle of Nuts, which lies in 
the bay between New York and Brooklyn, and which he purchased as 
his private domain. It is still called the " Governor's Island." 

Van Twiller was succeeded by William Kieft, a man of greater abili- 
ties, but unscrupulous and avaricious. He had become a bankrupt in 
Holland, and hoped to find in America the means of restoring his for- 
tunes. His administration of the province was full of troubles, the 
greater part of which were due to his recklessness and rapacity. 

The colonists were forbidden to sell fire-arms to the Indians, but some 
of the traders along the Hudson had violated this order, and it was esti- 
mated that the Mohawks had at least four hundred warriors armed with 
muskets. They were willing to pay large prices for the guns, as these 
weapons enabled them to meet on equal terms their enemies, the Canada 
Indians, who had been armed by the French. During Van Twiller's 
administration the colony had been on good terms with the Mohegans 
and other tribes of the Algonquin race, who were generally known as 
the river Indians. Kieft, soon after his arrival, demanded of them the 
payment of a tribute, which he pretended he had been ordered by the 
company to levy upon them. They refused his demand with contempt, 
and f)'om this time the friendship which they had entertained for the 
Dutch began to disappear. 

A year or two later the Raritans, a tribe living on the river of that 
name, were accused of stealing some hogs from the colony. The animals 
had, been taken by some Dutch traders ; but Kieft, instead of investi- 



236 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 

gating the matter, sent a party of soldiers among the Raritans and 
destroyed their corn and killed several of their number. The savages 
determined upon revenge, and with their usual unreasoning fury attacked 
the settlement which De Vries — who was always a friend of the Indians 
— had founded on Staten island, and killed four men. The people of 
the colony now urged the governor to conciliate the savages by kind 
treatment, but he refused to do so. Another cause of trouble soon arose. 
Twenty years before a Dutch trader had killed an Indian chief in the 
presence of a little nephew of the warrior. That child, now grown to 
manhood, came into the colony in 1641, and avenged his uncle by killing 
an innocent settler. Kieft ordered the Indians to surrender the young 
man that he might be punished for his crime ; but the savages refused to 
give him up, but offered to ransom him. Kieft refused their proposi- 
tion, and the matter remained an open source of trouble. 

With the hope of finding a remedy for the Indian difficulty, the people 
obtained from the governor, in 1642, permission to hold a meeting of the 
heads of families at New Amsterdam. These appointed twelve of their 
number to investigate the aifairs of the colony. This was the first repre- 
sentative assembly of New Netherland, and its career was short. 
Venturing to pass beyond the Indian question, and to criticise the 
administration of the governor in other matters, it was dissolved. 

Near the end of the year 1642 the Mohawks sent a band of warriors 
armed with muskets to demand tribute of the river tribes. These, too 
weak to contend with their enemies, fled to the Dutch for protection. 
Kieft was at this time angry with the Indians for refusing to surrender 
to him one of their number who had killed a Dutchman who had made 
him drunk and tlien ill-treated him, and he resolved to take a signal 
vengeance upon them, and exterminate them. De Vries, to whom he 
communicated his plan, remonstrated with him in the hope of inducing 
him to abandon it. " If you murder these poor creatures Avho have put 
themselves under your protection, you will involve the whole colony in 
ruin, and their blood, and the blood of your own people, M'ill be required 
at your hands," said De Vries. Nothing, however, could move the 
governor from his purpose. 

The Indians who had sought the protection of the Dutch were 
encamped with the Hackensack tribe just above Hoboken. On the night 
of the 25th of February the garrison of the fort at New Amsterdam, 
reinforced by the crews of some Dutch privateers in the river, crossed 
the Hudson and attacked the unsuspecting savages. Nearly a hundred 
were killed, and when the morning came many of the poor wretches were 
seen crowding along the shore of the river in the vain attempt to cross 



SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 237 

over to their supposed friends at New Amsterdam. They were forced 
into the stream and drowned. A company of Indians, trusting to the 
friendship of the Dutch, had encamped on Manhattan island, near the 
fort. They were put to death almost to a man. 

The massacre was regarded by the colonists with horror and detesta- 
tion, and they took no part in the joy with which the governor greeted 
the troops on their return from their bloody work. He was not allowed 
to rejoice long, however. When it became known among the Algon- 
quins that their brethren had been murdered, not by the Mohawks, but 
by the Dutch, every tribe took up the hatchet to avenge them, and a 
general warfare began along the entire line of the Dutch settlements. 
Several villages were destroyed, and a number of settlers were murdered 
or carried into captivity. The colony was threatened with ruin, and 
Kieft was obliged to open negotiations for peace. It was in this war 
that Mrs. Anne Hutchinson and her family, who had taken refuge in the 
territory of the Dutch, were murdered by the savages. 

On the 5th of March, 1643, a conference was held at Rockaway 
between sixteen Indian chiefs and De Vries and two other envoys from 
the colony. One of the principal sachems arose, holding in his hands a 
bundle of small sticks. " When you first arrived on our shores," said 
the Indian, addressing the whites, "you were destitute of food. We 
gave you our beans and our corn ; we fed you with oysters and fish ; and 
now, for our recompense, you murder our people." He then laid down 
one of the little sticks and proceeded : " The traders whom your first 
ships left on our shores to traffic till their return, were cherished by us 
as the apple of our eye. We gave them our daughters for their wives. 
Among those whom you have murdered were children of your own 
blood." " I know all," said De Vries, interrupting his recital of wrongs. 
He then invited the chiefs to go with him to the fort. They accom- 
panied him to New Amsterdam, where presents were exchanged and a 
treaty of peace negotiated. The younger warriors were not satisfied. 
Kieft's presents were niggardly. They were not regarded by the 
savages as a sufficient compensation for the wrongs they had sufiered, 
and the war was renewed. 

The leader of the Dutch in this campaign was Captain John Under- 
hill, who had served in the Pequod war in New England, and had 
removed to New Amsterdam in consequence of having been made to do 
penance in public at Boston in 1640. The war continued for two years, 
and though the colony suffered severely, the Dutch were able to inflict 
such heavy losses upon the savages that the latter were at length as 
anxious for peace as the whites. Sixteen hundred of the Indians had 



238 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

fallen, but the colony had been brought to the verge of ruin, and the 
population of New Amsterdam was reduced to one hundred souls. Ou 
the 30th of August, 1645, the chiefs of the Algonquins and a deputation 
from their old enemies, the Mohawks, who came as mediators, met the 
whites on the spot now known as the Battery, and concluded a peace. 

The close of the war was hailed with rejoicings throughout the colony. 
Kieft was regarded with universal hatred as the author of the terrible 
sufferings of the struggle, and his barbarous conduct was censured and 
disavowed by the company, and he was recalled. Hated throughout the 
colony he at length determined to return to Europe. Freighting a ves- 
sel with his ill-gotten gains he sailed from Manhattan in 1647. As he 
neared the shores of the old world his ship was wrecked on the coast of 
Wales, and all on board perished. 

Kieft, in the vain hope of conciliating the people, appointed, imme- 
diately after the close of the war, a new municipal council of eight 
members. The first act of this council was to demand of the States 
General of Holland the removal of Kieft. Their demand was complied 
with, as we have seen, and in 1647 Peter Stuyvesant was made governor 
of New Netherlands, and reached New Amsterdam in the same year. 

Stuyvesant was essentially a strong man. A soldier by education and 
of long experience, he was accustomed to regard rigid discipline as the 
one thing needful in every relation of life, and he was not slow to intro- 
duce that system into his government of New Amsterdam. He had 
served gallantly in the wars against the Portuguese, and had lost a leg in 
one of his numerous encounters with them. He was as vain as a pea- 
cock, as fond of display as a child, and thoroughly imbued with the most 
aristocratic ideas — qualities not exactly the best for a governor of New 
Amsterdam. Yet he was, with all his faults, an honest man, he had 
deeply at heart the interests of the colony, and his administration was 
mainly a prosperous one. 

He energetically opposed from the first all manifestations in favor of 
popular government. His will was to be the law of the province, " If 
any one," said he, " during my administration shall appeal, I will make 
him a foot shorter, and send the pieces to Holland, and let him appeal in 
that way." He went to work with vigor to reform matters in the colony, 
extending his efforts to even the morals and domestic affairs of the people. 
He soon brought about a reign of material prosperity greater than had 
ever been known before, and exerted himself to check the encroachments 
of the English on the east, and the Swedes on the south. He inaugu- 
rated a policy of kindness and justice toward the Indians, and soon 
changed their enmity to sincere friendship. One thing, however, he 



SETTLEME2iT OF NEW YORK. 239 

dared not do — he could not levy taxes upon the people without their con- 
sent, for fear of offending the States General of Holland. This forced 
him to appoint a council of nine prominent citizens, and, although he 
endeavored to hedge round their powers by numerous conditions, the nine 
ever afterwards served as a salutary check upon the action of the 
governor. 

The English in Connecticut made great efforts to extend their terri- 
tories westward at the expense of New Netherland, and gave Stuyvesant 
no little annoyance by their aggressions. During his administration the 
colony received large accessions of English emigrants from New England, 
who came to New Netherland "to enjoy that liberty denied to them by 
their own countrymen." They settled in New Amsterdam, on Long 
island, and in Westchester county. Being admitted to an equality Avith 
the Dutch settlers they exercised considerable influence in the affairs of 
the colony, and towards the close of his administration gave the governor 
considerable trouble by their opposition to his despotic acts. Stuyvesant 
entered into an arrangement with Connecticut for the proper adjustment 
of the boundaries of the two colonies, and left the English in possession 
of half of Long island. 

Upon his removal from his place as governor of New Amsterdam 
Peter Minuits offered his services to Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, 
who was anxious to found in America a colony which might prove a 
place of refuge for the persecuted Protestants of Europe. The offer was 
accepted by the king, and the shores of the Delaware were chosen as the 
site of the new settlement. Near the close of 1637 a little company of 
Swedes and Fins embarked in two vessels under the direction of Minuits, 
and sailed for America. The Delaware was reached early in 1638, and 
the new-comers purchased from the natives the country on the west side 
of the river from Cape Henlopen to Trenton. A fort was built Avithin 
the limits of the present State of Delaware, on the site of the present 
city of Wilmington, and named Fort Christiana, in honor of the youth- 
ful queen of Sweden, the daughter of Gustavus. 

Ivieft, the Dutch governor of New Netherland, protested against this 
occupation of the country by the Swedes, as Holland claimed the region 
along the Delaware. Sweden was too formidable a power for her colony 
to be attacked, however, and Kieft contented himself with his protest. 
Fresh emigrants came out from Scandinavia, and New Sweden grew 
rapidly. The Dutch fort Nassau was renewed, but the Swedes succeeded 
in maintaining their ascendency along the Delaware in spite of it. Their 
plantations were extended along the river, and the smallest of the Ameri- 
can commonwealths was permanently settled by Europeans. 



240 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

When Stuyvesant was made governor of New Netherland the Dutch 
West India Company resolved to enforce their claim to Delaware, and 
in 1651 built Fort Casimir on the site of Newcastle. The Swedes 
regarded this as an encroachment upon their domain, and in 1654 cap- 
tured the fort. Upon the receipt of this news the Dutch Company in- 
dignantly ordered Stuyvesant " to drive the Swedes from the river, or 
compel their submission." In September, 1655, Stuyvesant, with a force 
of six hundred men, sailed from Manhattan into the Delaware. The 
Swedish forts were compelled to surrender one after another, and the 
colonists were forced to submit to the establishment of the rule of the 
Dutch. They were allowed to retain their possessions, and on the whole 
were treated well. Many of them, however, were dissatisfied with their 
new rulers, and in the next few years emigrated to Maryland and 
Virginia. 

The territory now included in the State of New Jersey was also 
claimed by the Dutch. They built Fort Nassau on the Delaware to 
establish this claim, but the Swedes were the first to settle the country. 
Soon after, establishing themselves in Delaware, they crossed over to the 
eastern side of the river, and built a line of trading-posts extending from 
Cape May to Burlington. 

New Amsterdam continued to prosper, and was even at this early day 
rapidly becoming an important commercial town. Stuyvesant's arbitrary 
temper was held in check to a considerable extent by the more liberal 
policy of the company, who sincerely desired the prosperity of the colony. 
" Let every peaceful citizen," wrote the directors, " enjoy freedom of con- 
science ; this maxim has made our city the asylum for fugitives from 
every land ; tread in its steps, and you shall be blessed." The infant 
metropolis from the first acquired a cosmopolitan character. It contained 
settlers from every nation of Europe, and even from Africa; for the 
Dutch at an early day introduced negro slavery into the colony. 

The people of New Netherland had no political rights, and the West 
India Company, with every disposition to treat the colony with fairness, 
did not mean to allow the settlers to have any voice in governing them- 
selves. Town meetings were positively forbidden, and every care was 
taken to discourage any manifestation of public spirit. Nevertheless the 
colonists were beginning to feel the promptings of the spirit of democracy, 
and the English settlers who had come into the province were by no 
means content to remain without the privileges of freemen. A series of 
disputes at once arose witli the fiery old governor, who entertained the 
most profound contempt for the people, and laughed in scorn at the asser- 
tion of their ability to govern themselves. 



SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 241 

The discontents went on increasing, however, and at length the people 
appointed a convention of two delegates from each settlement for the 
purpose of deliberating on the affairs of the colony. Stuyvesant was 
bitterly opposed to this assembly, but deemed it best not to seek to pre- 
vent its meeting, as such a step would have brought about a collision with 
the people. The convention addressed the governor as follows : " The 
States General of the United Provinces are our liege lords ; we submit to 
the laws of the United Provinces ; and our rights and privileges ought 
to be in harmony with those of the fatherland, for we are a member of 
the state, and not a subjugated people. We, who have come together 
from various parts of the world, and are a blended community of various 
lineage ; we, who have, at our own expense, exchanged our native lands 
for the protection of the United Provinces ; we, who have transformed 
the wilderness into fruitful farms, demand that no new laws shall be 
enacted but with the consent of the people ; that none shall be appointed 
to office but with the approbation of the people ; that obscure and obso- 
lete laws shall never be revived." This was too much for the governor. 
He attempted to reason with the deputies, who had the temerity to de- 
mand the right of self-government, and finding them firm dissolved the 
convention with the haughty declaration: "AVe derive our authority 
from God and the West India Company, not from the pleasure of a few 
ignorant subjects." The West India Company entirely approved the 
course of the governor. "We approve the taxes you propose," they 
wrote to Stuyvesant ; " have no regard to the consent of the people. Let 
them indulge no longer the visionary dream that taxes can be imposed 
only with their consent." 

Neither the company nor the governor could understand that this per- 
sistent disregard of the rights of the people was alienating all classes of 
the colonists, and making them long for the conquest of New Netherland 
by the English as the only means of obtaining the privileges of the free- 
men of the English colonies. 

Nor was this an idle hope. For a long time past the English govern- 
ment had seriously entertained the idea of driving out the Dutch, and 
adding New Netherland to its American possessions. The English claim 
extended to the entire Atlantic coast as far south as Florida, and the 
Dutch were regarded as intruders. Cromwell and his son had each con- 
templated making such an effort, and at the return of Charles II. to the 
throne the plan was more seriously discussed, and at length put in opera- 
tion. Charles, although at peace with Holland, and in spite of the 
charter which he had granted to Connecticut, bestowed upon his brother, 
the Duke of York, afterwards James II., the entire region between the 
16 




242 



SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 



243 



Connecticut and Delaware rivers. This was in February, 1664. A 
squadron was at once fitted out for the purpose of seizing the Dutch 
colony, and was placed in command of Richard Nicolls, an officer of the 
Duke of York's household. The fleet touched at Boston to land the 
commissioners sent out by Charles to the New England colonies, and to 
receive reinforcements. Governor Winthrop, of Connecticut, also em- 
barked on board of it. 

The first intimation Stuyvesant had of the intended robbery was the 
appearance of the fleet within the Narrows on the 28th of August, 1664. 



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THE CITY HALL PARK, NEW YORK, IN 1875. 



The next day Nicolls demanded the surrender of the town and fort of 
New Amsterdam. Stuyvesant, who had made preparations for defend- 
ing the place, endeavored to resist the demand, but the citizens refused to 
sustain him, and he was obliged to submit. On the 8th of September he 
embarked his troops for Holland, and put to sea. The English at once 
took possession of the fort and town, and their vessels ascending the 
Hudson, received the submission of the other Dutch forts and settlements 
along the river. A few weeks later the Dutch and the Swedes along the 
Delaware submitted to the English, and the entire province was in their 



244 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

hands. The name of New Amsterdam was changed to New York, which 
name was also bestowed upon the province, and Fort Orange was called 
Albany, all in honor of the new proprietor. NicoUs was appointed 
governor. 

The English set themselves to work to conciliate the Dutch residents, 
a task not very difficult, as the English settlers in the province had 
already prepared the way for the change, and the treatment the colony 
had received from the West India Company had prevented the formation 
of any decided attachment to the rule of Holland. The English system 
of government was introduced, the towns were allowed to elect their own 
magistrates, and the desires of the people for representative government 
seemed about to be gratified. 

The Mohawks had been the friends of the Dutch, and they now readily 
entered into an alliance with the English as their successors. This alli- 
ance remained unbroken all through the colonial period, and during the 
war of the Revolution ; and in the first-named period proved of the 

greatest advantage to the colonies, 
as the Mohawks, whose hatred of 
the French was deep and unre- 
lenting, proved a formidable ob- 
stacle in the way of invading par- 
ties from Canada. 

Immediately upon becoming 
master of the province the Duke 
of York proceeded to divide it. He sold to Lord Berkeley and Sir 
George Cartaret, both of whom were already proprietaries of Carolina, 
the country between the Hudson and the Delaware. This purchase was 
named ll^w Jersey, in honor of the island of Jersey, of which Cartaret 
was governor, and corresponded in size very nearly to the present State 
of that name. The new proprietors made liberal offers to induce emi- 
grants to settle in their territory, and among other things offered them 
lands free of rent for five years. They granted to the province a politi- 
cal establishment consisting of a governor, a council, and assembly of 
representatives of the people, who were given the power to make the 
laws necessary for their government. The proprietors reserved the right 
to appoint the governor and judicial officers, and to veto the proceedings 
of the assembly. Negro slavery was also introduced. These offers drew 
a large number of settlers to New Jersey, and many families came over 
from Long island to the new province. The principal settlement was 
named Elizabethtown, in honor of Cartaret's wife. The colony pros- 
pered ; no trouble was experienced from the neighboring Indians, whose 




COAT or ARMS OF NEW JERSEY. 



SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 245 

power had been thoroughly broken by the Dutch, and everything went 
on happily until the year 1670, when the proprietaries demanded the 
rents due for the lands held by the settlers. The demand was refused. 
Many of the colonists had lived in the province under the rule of the 
Dutch, and had bought their lands from the Indians, and they claimed 
that the grant of the province to Cartaret could not invalidate these pur- 
chases, as the king had no claim to the lands which he so lavishly 
bestowed upon his favorites. Others refused to pay rent because 
they had made their plantations without any assistance from the 
proprietaries, and did not acknowledge any debt to them. The 
representative of the proprietaries was obliged to fly from New Jersey 
for safety, and went to England to obtain assistance in enforcing his 
demands. 

The Duke of York heard the complaints of the proprietaries, but the 
only attention he paid to them was to appoint Sir Edmund Andros, who 
subsequently became infamous for his tyranny in New England, gov- 
ernor of New Jersey. This was a flagrant violation of the rights of 
Cartaret and Berkeley, and an act thoroughly characteristic of the last 
of the Stuarts. Berkeley in disgust sold his half of the province, known 
as West Jersey, to an English Quaker named Edward Byllinge, who 
subsequently made over his claim to William Penn, who made an 
arrangement with Cartaret to divide the Jerseys. Cartaret retained East 
Jersey, and the line of division was drawn from the northwest corner of 
the province to the sea at Little Egg harbor. This purchase became the 
cause of considerable litigation in after years, and West Jersey was 
claimed by Pennsylvania until the next century, when, as we shall see, 
the dispute was settled. 

New Jersey received a considerable accession to her population in con- 
sequence of the re-establishment of episcopacy in Scotland. The Cam- 
eronians or Covenanters refused to submit to the authority of the church, 
and thus became the objects of a cruel persecution. As so many of their 
faith had done before them, they sought refuge from their persecutors in 
America, and in 1683 and the following years large numbers of them 
came over and settled in East Jersey. This portion of the State was 
the cradle, as it is now one of the strongholds, of Presbyterianism in 
America. 

In the meantime matters in New York had not been conducted to the 
satisfaction of the people. The promises made to the colonists by the 
English authorities were not kept. The province was treated as the 
absolute property of the Duke of York, and the governor and his council 
were constituted the highest authority for both the making and exe- 



246 



HISTORY OF TUB U KITED STATES. 



cution of the laws. Kepresentative government was denied them, 
arbitrary taxes were imposed by Governor Nicolls, and the titles to the 
lands held by the settlers, not even excepting the Dutch patents, were de- 
clared invalid, in order that by issuing new title-deeds Nicolls might gain 
enormous fees. Lovelace, the successor of Nicolls, carried his tyranny to 




BROADWAY, NEW YORK, IN 1875. 

a still greater extent. His system of government is thus summed up : 
"The method for keeping the people in order is severity, and laying such 
taxes as may give them liberty for no thought but how to discharge 
them." When the people of a number of the towns ventured to remon- 
strate with the governor, he ordered their petition for the redress of their 



SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 247 

grievances to be publicly burned before the town house in New York. 
The settlements in Delaware were treated with equal injustice. 

In 1673, war having broken out between Holland and England, a 
Dutch squadron entered the harbor of New York. The people, thor- 
oughly cured of their partiality for English rule by the injustice they 
had suiFered, made no resistance and surrendered the town. Its name 
was changed to New Orange, and the authority of the Dutch was again 
extended over the province, and also over Long island, New Jersey and 
Delaware. The Mohawks sent a deputation of their chiefs to congratu- 
late the Dutch upon the recovery of their colony. The next year, how- 
ever, peace was made between England and Holland, and the Dutch 
surrendered their conquests in America. New York passed once more 
into the hands of the Duke of York, and East Jersey into those of 
Cartaret. 

In the same year the Duke of York appointed Sir Edmund Andros 
governor of New York. The eastern settlements of Long island were 
anxious to adhere to Connecticut, but the governor compelled them on 
pain of being declared rebels to acknowledge themselves a part of New 
York. The claim of the duke extended within the limits of Connecticut 
as far as the river of that name, and in the summer of 1675 Andros 
sailed with several armed sloops for that colony to establish his authority 
as far as the river. The government of Connecticut, warned of his 
purpose, determined to resist him, and Captain Bull, the commander of 
the fort at Saybrooke, was ordered to pay no attention to his claim. 
Andros, arriving off Saybrooke, hoisted the royal standard and demanded 
the surrender of the fort. Bull instantly ran up the English colors, and 
refused to comply with the demand. Andros, who was a coward at 
heart, quailed before the firmness of the Connecticut captain, and aban- 
doned his undertaking and sailed for Long island. Tims ended the 
attempt of the Duke of York to dismember Connecticut. Andros re- 
turned to New York to disgust the people of that province with his 
tyranny. 

When James II. became king he compelled the proprietaries of New 
Jersey to surrender their claim to the jurisdiction of that province to 
him, and annexed it to New York. In 1683 the grievances of the people 
of New York had become so unendurable that James, then Duke of 
York, deemed it best to conciliate them, and allowed the freeholders to 
send representatives to an assembly. This assembly met in October, 
1683, and its first act was to demand the rights of Englishmen. "Su- 
preme legislative power," they declared, " shall forever be and reside in 
the governor, council, and people, met in general assembly. Every free- 



248 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

holder and freeman shall vote for representation without restraint. Xo 
freeman shall suffer but by the judgment of his peers; and all trials shall 
be by a jury of twelve men. No tax shall be assessed, on any pretence 
whatever, but by the consent of the assembly. No seaman or soldier 
shall be quartered on the inhabitants against their will. No martial law 
shall exist. No person professing faith in God by Jesus Christ shall at 
any time be any ways disquieted or questioned for any difference of 
opinion." These privileges were conceded by the Duke of York, who 
solemnly promised not to change them except for the advantage of the 
colony ; but he had scarcely become king when he overturned the liberties 
he had conceded and made New York a royal province, dependent en- 
tirely upon his unrestrained will for its privileges. 

The people of New York were Protestants, many of whom had had 
cause to dread the restoration of the Roman Catholic religion in England. 
When James gave evidence of his intention to compel the acceptance of 
that faith by all his subjects, the colonies included, they were greatly dis- 
contented. Their fears were increased by the appointment by the king 
of a Roman Catholic as collector of customs at New York. Nicholson, 
the royal governor, was also exceedingly unpopular. As soon as the news 
of the overthrow of James II. in England reached New York, Jacob 
Leisler, the senior captain of the military companies, was requested by his 
men to take possession of the fort and assume the management of affairs 
until the government should be settled by the orders of King William. 
Leisler was a prominent merchapt and was very popular with the common 
people, but he was opposed by the great land-holders, who were princi- 
pally Dutch, and by the party devoted to the Church of England. He 
found himself at the head of about five hundred armed men, and taking 
possession of the fort avowed his intention to hold it until the will of 
King William should be known. He was sustained by a large majority 
of the people of New York, but the aristocratic party, and the church- 
men, who hated him, as he was a Presbyterian, denounced him as a rebel, 
and sustained the council of Nicholson, the last governor appointed by 
Kin": James, whicli withdrew to Albany in August, 1689. 

Leisler appointed his son-in-law, JMilbourne, his secretary. Later in 
the year the people of Albany, being in danger of an attack from the 
French from Canada, asked aid from New York. Leisler sent Mil- 
bourne with a body of troops to their assistance, but the old council 
refused to acknowledge his authority, or to allow him to assume the 
command of the fort, and he went back with his men to Ncm' York, 
leaving the people of Albany to depend upon their own exertions for the 
defeat of the French. In their necessity they asked for and received aid 
from Connecticut. 



SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 249 

In December letters from the English government were received, 
addressed to Nicholson, or, in his absence, to " such as, for the time being, 
take care for preserving the peace and administering the law " in New 
York. A commission for Nicholson accompanied these documents ; but 
he was on his way to England, and Leisler, who was temporarily in 
authority in New York, regarded his position as confirmed by the letters 
from England, and caused himself to be proclaimed governor. He 
ordered the members of the old council at Albany to be arrested, and 
summoned an assembly to provide for the wants of the colony. 

Upon first taking charge of affairs Leisler had addressed a letter to King 
William setting forth his reasons for his action, and asking the king to 
make known his royal pleasure concerning the colony. No answer was 
sent by the king to this communication, but on the 30th of January, 1691, 
a ship suddenly arrived in the harbor having on board a company of 
English soldiers, commanded by a Captain Ingoldsby, who had been sent 
by Colonel Henry Sloughter, whom King William had appointed 
governor of New York. The aristocratic party at once rallied around 
Ingoldsby as their leader, and that officer demanded of Leisler the sur- 
render of the fort. Leisler insisted that he should produce his authority 
for such a demand, and, as none could be shown, refused to give up the 
fort, but offered Ingoldsby every assistance for himself and his men, and 
avowed his intention to submit to Sloughter upon his arrival. In the 
time which elapsed between the arrivals of Ingoldsby and the new gov- 
ernor party spirit ran so high that a collision occurred between the soldiers 
and the people, in which one man was wounded. 

Slougliter reached New York on the 19th of March, 1691. Leisler at 
once sent messengers to receive his orders, but the messengers were 
detained. The next morning Leisler addressed a letter to Sloughter, 
asking to whom he should deliver up the fort. Sloughter returned no 
answer to this letter, but ordered Ingoldsby to " arrest Leisler and the 
persons called his council." 

Leisler, Milbourne, and six others were arrested and immediately 
arraigned before a tribunal composed of their inveterate enemies, on a 
charge of treason. This was a frivolous pretence, for it was well known 
that Leisler, who was an enthusiastic admirer of King William, had 
never dreamed of denying his authority ; but it was as good a charge as 
any other, as the fate of the prisoners was decided from the first. The 
prisoners denied the authority of the court, and refusing to plead before 
it, appealed to the king. The presiding officer of the court was the 
chief justice of New York, the infamous Joseph Dudley, who had been 
driven out of New England by the people whose liberties he had out- 



250 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

raged. The prisoners, in spite of their appeal, were condemned to 
death. 

Sloughter was unwilling to disregard their appeal as entirely as the 
court had done, and wished to leave the matter to the king ; but the 
enemies of Leisler were resolved upon his death. Taking advantage of 
the known weakness of the governor, they made him drunk at a dinner 
party, and in this state induced him to sign the death warrant of the 
prisoners. The next morning at daybreak (May 16th) Leisler and Mil- 
bourne were hurried from their weeping families to the gallows. In 
spite of a pouring rain, the people who had gotten news of the tragedy 
crowded around the place of execution to cheer their martyrs in their 
last moments. " Weep not for us, who are departing to our God," said 
I^ieisler to the multitude. Milbournc saw standing among the crowd one 
of the men who had been prominent in their condemnation, and cried out 
to him : " Robert Livingston, I will implead thee for this at the bar of 
God." Then turning to the people, he said : " I die for the king and 
queen, and for the Protestant religion, in which I was born and bred. 
Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." The judicial murder was 
then completed, and New York's first martyrs laid down their lives in 
behalf of the rights of the people. 

The popular party was now more than ever embittered against the 
aristocratic class, and the principles which Leisler and Milbourne upheld 
were more than ever insisted upon. Their friends, " who were distin- 
guished always by their zeal for popular power, for toleration, for opjwsi- 
tion to the doctrine of legitimacy," continued the struggle, and at length 
succeeded in making their princi})le8 the law of the colony. 

The royalist assembly, while denying to the people an equality with 
themselves in political matters, were yet indisposed to surrender to the 
croAvn the independence of the colony, and, with their successors, insisted 
upon the right of self-government, and the regulation of taxation by the 
assembly, with such firmness that in 1705 Queen Anne yielded so far as 
to permit the assembly to appoint " its own treasurer to take charge of 
extraordinary su})plies." 

The memory of Leisler and Milbourne was vindicate<l after their 
death. The son of the former made the appeal to the king which had 
been denied his father, and Parliament at length reversed the attainder 
under the charge of treason, and restored their estates to their families. 
Dudley exerted all his arts to prevent this act of justice. As for Governor 
Sloughter, who was at the best but a poor weak adventurer, he died of the 
efl'ects of his dissipation six months after the execution of his victims. 

In 1692 Benjamin Fletcher was appointed to succeed Sloughter. He 



SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 



251 



■was an officer of tlie royal army, and was as passionate and avaricious as 
he was incompetent in other respects. He was a firm ally of the aris- 
tocratic party, and a bitter foe to popular liberty. In 1693, in order to 
assist New York against the attacks of the French in Canada, all the 
colonies were required to contribute their quota of troops to her defence. 
An effort was also made to place the militia of New Jersey and Connect- 
icut under the orders of the governor of New York. The authorities of 




NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK, IN 1875. 



Connecticut, however, were resolved not to relinquish the control of their 
militia, which would have been to sacrifice the rights secured to the 
people by the charter. In order to enforce his authority, Governor 
Fletcher repaired to Hartford, where the assembly of Connecticut was in 
session. At the time of his arrival a company of militia was engaged in 
training in the town. Governor Fletcher rode up to this force ; but its 



252 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

commander, Captain Wadsworth, paid no attention to him, and did not 
even acknowledge his presence. Fletcher, who had boasted that he 
would not stir from the colony until he was obeyed, ordered his secretary 
to read his commission in the hearing of the troops. As the secretary 
commenced to read, Wadsworth ordered the drums to be beaten, and the 
secretary's voice was drowned. " Silence ! " cried Fletcher ; " begin 
again with the commission." " Music ! music ! " ordered Wadsworth, 
the same man who had hid the charter from Governor Andros. The 
drummers began again, and the governor, in a rage, ordered them to 
cease their music. Wadsworth sharply commanded the bewildered 
musicians to go on with their drumming, and then turning upon Fletcher, 
said to him fiercely : " If I am interrupted again I will make daylight 
shine through you." The voice and manner of the man convinced the 
governor that he was in earnest, and he went back to New York, satisfied 
of the im{)Ossibility of bringing the Connecticut militia under his orders. 
Kew York was the most northern colony in which the authority of the 
Church of England was established. A number of its people were 
members of that communion, and in the colonial government the influ- 
ence of that church was predominant. The vast majority of the people, 
however, were hostile to it, and it was not until 1695 that Governor 
Fletcher was able to obtain for it anything like favor from the assembly. 
The representatives of the people were fearful that if it obtained a firm 
footing among them, the British government might bestow upon it a 
power which would be dangerous to the other denominations. Naturally 
it enjoyed the favor of the home government, and engrossed all the pro- 
vision made by England for religious mattei-s in the colony. Lord 
Cornbury, the royal governor, attempted in 1705 to silence a Presby- 
terian minister for preaching without a license from the governor; but 
a jury, composed of Episcopalians, acquitted the prisoner. The same 
governor connived at the seizure by the Episcopalians of a church in 
Jamaica, which had been built by the whole town ; but the colonial 
court restored it to its rightful owners. The spirit of popular liberty 
and toleration was growing rapidly in New York, and its colonial history 
is the story of a constant struggle between the people and the royal 
governors for the assertion and maintenance of their rights. Nearly all 
the governors regarded their position as but a means of enriching them- 
selves, and systematically defrauded both the king and the colony. 

By 1732 the population of New York city numbered a little less than 
nine thousand souls. In that year a case of the deepest interest occurred 
in that city. John Peter Zenger had established a newspaper called the 
Week!]/ Jownal, which ventured to censure the arbitrary action of the 




253 



254 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

governor and assembly in levying illegal taxes upon the colony. This 
was a bold step, for until now no newspaper had dared to criticise the 
action of the government. Cosby, the governor of New York, resolving 
to make an example of the offender, arrested Zenger on the charge of 
libel, and caused his paper to be publicly burned. Zenger employed 
two lawyers to defend him, and these increased the anger of the govern- 
ment by denying the competency of the court, inasmuch as the appoint- 
ment of the chief justice, Delancy, had been made by Cosby without the 
consent of the council, and was therefore illegal. The court at once 
struck their names from its list of attorneys, and this arbitrary action so 
intimidated the remaining members of the bar that Zenger found it im- 
possible to procure counsel. 

In this helpless condition he was put on trial, and the court had 
actually begun its proceedings when a stranger, a venerable and noble- 
looking man, entered the room and took his seat at the bar. He 
announced his name to the court, and stated that he had come to act as 
counsel for the prisoner. A murmur of admiration greeted the announce- 
ment of his name. He was Andrew Hamilton, speaker of the assembly 
of Pennsylvania, the famous "Quaker lawyer" of Philadelphia. In the 
trial which ensued, Hamilton offered to prove the truth of the alleged 
libel, but was not allowed to do so; the chief justice quoting English 
precedents in support of his decision. Hamilton then made an eloquent 
appeal to the jury, declaring that they of their own knowledge knew the 
statements of Zenger's paper to be true, and urged them to maintain the 
great principles of the freedom of the press and liberty of speech through- 
out the colonics, which principles, and not John Peter Zenger, he 
solemnly declared were on trial before them. In spite of the unfavorable 
charge of the judge, the jury brought in a unanimous verdict of 
acquittal, which was announced amid the cheers of the people. Thus 
while the freedom of the press was still in doubt in England, and thirty- 
seven years before the famous trial for libel of the publisher of the 
Letters Junius established it in the mother country, the people of New 
York declared themselves its guardians, and struck down the effort 
of the royal power to impose shackles upon their most vigilant defender. 

In 1702 the proprietaries of New Jersey surrendered their rights 
of jurisdiction to the crown, and Queen Anne united the two Jerseys in 
one province, and placed it under the governor of New York. It was 
given a separate assembly, but this concession of partial independence of 
its neighbor did not suit the province, and after many protests it was 
given its own governor in the person of Lewis Morris, in 1708. During 
the rest of the colonial period it remained a royal province. 




CHAPTER XVII. 

COLONIZATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

The Quakers — Their Origin and Doctrines — William Penn — Becomes a Quaker — Is Per- 
secuted for his Religious Opinions — Becomes Interested in American Colonization — 
Purchases West Jersey from the Proprietor — Conceives the Idea of Founding a Free 
State in America — Purchases Pennsylvania from Charles II. — Conditions of his Charter 
— Sends out a Colony — Arrival of Penn in America — Philadelphia Founded — Penn's 
Treaty with the Indians — Religious Toleration Guaranteed — Penn's Relations with hia 
Colonists — Rapid Growth of Pennsylvania in Population and Prosperity — William 
Penn and James II. — Renewal of Penn's Troubles — William III. Declares Pennsyl- 
vania a Royal Province — Penn is Vindicated and Restored to his Proprietary Rights — 
His Return to Pennsylvania — Character of the Settlers of the Province — Penn Goes 
Back to England — Efforts to deprive him of his Possessions — His Death. 

NE of the most remarkable results of the English Reformation 
was the rise and growth of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, 
as they came to be called. Discarding what seemed to them 
superfluous and unnecessary forms in religion, they confined 
themselves to a simpler and more primitive expressidn of their 
faith. Believing that the only evil a Christian should resist is the evil 
of his own heart, they opposed no resistance to persecution or to ill-treat- 
ment from their fellow-men ; and as servants of the Prince of Peace were 
unchangeably opposed to war and bloodshed. They held the doctrine 
of the Trinity ; that we obtain salvation by the atoning blood of Christ j 
that man was created a free and responsible agent, that he forfeited his 
right to the blessings of the Creator by his fall, and will owe his restora- 
tion to his lost estate to the mercy of God and the blood of Christ ; that 
the Holy Scriptures are the work of inspiration, and a good rule of life 
and faith. With them the test of Christianity was not a man's standing 
in the church, but the answer of a good conscience ; the sense of true in- 
ward communion between the soul of the individual and God. They 
conducted their worship in silence, and regarded all their members as 
sent by God to preach His gospel ; therefore, any one, even women, was 
free to speak in their meetings the message which came to him from the 
Holy Spirit. They denied that the right to preach was restricted to any 
particular class, and refused to acknowledge the authority >f the regular 
clergy. Oaths were regarded as unlawful for Christian men, and temper- 

255 



256 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ance and the utmost simplicity in all things were enjoined upon their 
people. They refused to recognize the social distinctions which prevailed 
in the world, though they admitted the power of the magistrates to enforce 
the laws, and regarded all men as equals. Their dress was simple, and 
in proportion to the means of the wearer, and their lives were blameless. 
They admitted the right of all men to worship God in their own way, 
and thus extended to all others the perfect toleration they claimed for 
themselves. 

The founder of this sect was the good George Fox, the son of a weaver 
of Leicestershire, and " by his mother descended from the stock of the 
martyrs." He began to teach his doctrines about the middle of the seven- 
teenth century, and at first his converts were people of the humbler 
classes of England. He was met with a determined opposition from 
both the established church and the Presbyterians, and was imprisoned, 
set in the stocks, cruelly beaten, and otherwise persecuted, and driven 
from place to place. Yet he persevered, and his doctrines began to 

spread. Distressed by the perse- 
cutions to M'hich his followers 
were subjected, he visited America 
after the restoration of Charles 
II., in the hope of finding there a 
place of refuge for his people, but 
could find none. Puritan New 

COAT OF ABMS OF PENN8ILVAJJIA. _, , - , .- l • l 

ii-ngland was hostile to his doc- 
trines, and the power of the Church of England was strong enough in 
the southern colonies to defeat his object. 

Among Fox's converts were a few from the higher classes of English 
society. One of these was destined to be, next to its founder, the greatest 
benefactor of his faith, and one of the choice instruments of the Almighty 
in the settlement and Christianization of America. This was William 
Penn. He was the son and heir of Admiral Sir William Penn, one of 
the most distinguished naval commanders of England. The admiral 
desired for his son the advantages which his high position would readily 
secure to him, but the young man at an early day, hapjiening to converse 
with a simple-minded Quaker, became so deeply impressed with his 
principles that he adopted them as his own. This greatly annoyed the 
father, but supposing that it was a mere boyish notion which his son 
would outgrow, William was sent to study at the University of Oxford, 
and after leaving that institution was made to travel through Europe to 
imj)rove his mind and to remove his tendency to Quakerism. 

William returned to England, after an absence of two years, greatly 




COLONIZATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 257 

improved in mind, but still true to his religious convictions. In 1666, 
while travelling in Ireland, Penn met his old friend Thomas Loe, and 
heard him speak of the glorious triumph of the faith of a Christian over 
the adversities of the world. His enthusiasm was once more awakened 
to such an extent that he from that moment began to seek to draw others 
into the communion which had given him so much happiness. His 
course gave offence to the authorities, and he was imprisoned. He 
addressed a remonstrance to the viceroy of Ireland, in which he declared : 
" Religion is my crime and my innocence ; it makes me a prisoner to 
malice, but my own freeman." 

Being liberated, he went back home, but only to meet with mockery 
and persecution. He was ridiculed by his companions of his own rank 
in life, and it was a common jest in society, says Pepys, that " William 
Penn was a Quaker again, or some very melancholy thing." His father, 
disappointed and indignant at the failure of his hopes, turned him out of 
his house without a penny ; but his mother, truer to her nature, supplied 
him with sufficient funds to relieve his most pressing wants. 

Penn now began to defend his doctrines through the press, and thus 
brought them into greater prominence. This soon made him the victim 
of the ecclesiastical authorities, and the Bishop of London threatened 
him with imprisonment for life if he did not recant his doctrines. He 
answered firmly : " Then my prison shall be my grave." He was com- 
mitted to the Tower on a charge of heresy, and kept in close confinement. 
Charles II., naturally kind-hearted, was touched by his firmness, and 
sent the learned Stillingfleet, himself a man of humanity, to reason with 
him. " The Tower," said Penn, " is to me the worst argument in the 
world." At the end of a year his father's friend, the Duke of York, 
procured his release, for the consistency of the young man had won back 
for him the affection and sympathy of the stern old admiral. 

Every effort was now made to draw William Penn away from his 
faith. A high rank in the royal navy, the favor of the king, and many 
other inducements were held out to him ; but he refused them all, and 
remained true to his principles. In less than a vear after his release 
from the Tower he was arrested for having spoken at a Quaker meeting. 
He protested his right to do this, and declared that no power on earth 
should prevent him from worshipping the God who m§ide him. He was 
placed on trial for his offence, and boldly demanvled to know on what 
law the indictment against him was founded. " On the common law," 
replied the recorder. " Where is that law ? " asked Penn. " The law 
which is not in being, far from being common, is no law at all." He 
conducted his own defence, and as he was pleading earnestly for his 
17 



258 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

rights as an Englishman, was hurried out of court. He appealed to the 
jury to remember that they were his judges. The jury, in spite of an 
unfavorable charge from the judge, brought in a verdict of acquittal. 
The court ordered them back to their room, with the angry declaration : 
" We will have a verdict, by the help of God, or you shall starve for it." 
"You are Englishmen," cried Penn to the jurors, as they were retiring: 
" Mind your privilege ; give not away your right." At last, after being 
kept two days and nights without food, the jury repeated their verdict of 
"not guilty," and were fined by the court for daring to assert their 
independence. Penn was fined for contempt of court, and sent back to 
prison, ^is fine was soon discharged by his father, who died shortly 
afterwards. " Son William," said the dying admiral, to whom earthly 
honors now appeared in their true light, " if you and your friends keep 
to vour plain way of preaching and living, you will make an end of the 
priests." 

Penn was now nearly twenty-six years old, and had inherited from 
his father a handsome estate. He continued to 
explain and defend his doctrines through the 
press, and in 1G71 was arrested and sentenced 
to six months' imprisonment in Newgate. From 
his prison he addressed a noble plea to Parlia- 
ment and to the nation for toleration. Upon 
his release from prison, Penn travelled in Hol- 
land and Germany, and upon his return to Eng- 
land, in 1673, married a woman of great beauty, 
whose noble character rendered her a fitting com- 
panion to him. He took no part in public affairs 

WIXiLIAM PENN", 

until the imprisonment of George Fox, upon his 
return to England from America, called him once more to the defence of 
his brethren. Fox being released, he and Penn and several others 
travelled through Holland and a part of Germany, seeking to make 
converts to their faith — an effort in wliich they were very successful 
among the Dutch and German peasantry. Returning to England, he 
once more appealed to Parliament, but without success, to do justice to 
the Quakers, and grant them the toleration to which they were entitled. 

Despairing of success in England, Penn now directed the whole of his 
energies to securing a'home for his persecuted brethren in the new world. 
A number of Quakers were already settled along the banks of the Dela- 
ware and in New Jersey, and in 1675 the embarrassments of Edward 
Byllinge, who had purchased Lord Berkeley's interest in New Jersey, 
obliged him to sell his share of that province. It was purchased by 




COLONIZATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 259 

William Penn, Gawen Lourie, and Nicholas Lucas for the benefit of the 
Quakers. This placed the Friends in' possession of an asylum, but it left 
them more at the mercy of the English government and church tlian 
they desired to be, and New Jersey was divided into two equal parts ; 
Cartaret, Berkeley's former partner, retaining East Jersey, and West 
Jersey becoming the property of the Quakers. This was accomplished 
in 1676, and in March of the following year a government resting upon 
the will of the people, and securing to the inhabitants protection and 
equality in all their political and religious rights and privileges, was set 
up in West Jersey. The English Quakers came over to the new province 
in great numbers, with the good wishes of Charles II., and peaceful 
relations were established with the Indians. Byllinge, who had retained 
some interest in the province, now began to be troublesome, and claimed 
the right to nominate the deputy governor. The people denied his 
claim, and, at the instigation of William Penn, amended their constitu- 
tion so as to place the choice of all their officers in their own hands, and 
then elected a governor. 

Penn had now become deeply interested in the colonization of America, 
and wished to secure for his faith a wider domain than West Jersey. He 
had inherited from his father a claim against the English government 
amounting to £16,000. He now proposed to exchange this claim for a 
grant of territory in America. Charles II., who was always in want of 
money, and who never set much value upon the lands of the new world, 
readily accepted his offer, as it was urged by Lords North, Halifax, and 
Sunderland, and the Duke of York, who were firm friends of William 
Penn. The king, in 1681, granted to Penn a district lying west of the 
Delaware river, and corresponding very nearly to territory embraced in 
the present State of Pennsylvania, which name the king bestowed upon 
it in honor of the proprietor. The Duke of York claimed Delaware as 
his own property, and Penn, who wished to have free access to the sea, 
purchased it of him the next year. The territory was granted to Penn 
as absolute proprietor; the people were secured in the right of self- 
government; religious equality was guaranteed to all; the acts of the 
colonial legislature were to be submitted to the king and council, who 
had the power to annul them if contrary to the law of England ; the 
power of levying customs was reserved to Parliament ; and no taxes were 
to be imposed upon the people save by the colonial legislature or by Par- 
liament. 

Penn then invited all persons who desired to do so to settle in Penn- 
sylvania, and in a proclamation daclared his intention to leave the settlers 
free to make their own laws. " I propose," he said, " to leave myself 



260 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and successors no power of doing mischief, that the will of no one man 
may hinder the good of a whole country." " God/' he declared, " has 
furnisht me with a better resolution, and has given me his grace to 
keep it." 

His resolution was soon tested. Soon after he obtained his patent a 
company of traders offered him six thousand pounds and an annual pay- 
ment of a stipulated sum for the monopoly of the Indian traffic between 
the Delaware and the Susquehanna. He had already straitened himself 
very much by his expenditures for his colony, and his family had been 
obliged to endure some deprivations in consequence. The offer was 
tempting, but he declined it firmly. What was free to him should be 
free to every inhabitant of Pennsylvania, and he would derive no advan- 
tage at the expense of his people. 

A company was collected and sent out to Pennsylvania, under William 
Markham, Penn's nephew, and the personal character of the proprietor 
of the colony was deemed by all a sufficient guarantee for the protection 
of their liberties. Penn intended following this company as soon as he 
could, and in the meantime enjoined Markham to continue the establish- 
ment already existing along the Delaware, and to govern in accordance 
with the laws of England. In 1682 he prepared to go out to America 
to superintend the formal establishment of his colony. As he was about 
to sail, he wrote to his wife, to whom he was devoted with all the ardor 
of his youth : " Live low and sparingly till my debts be paid ; I desire 
not riches, but to owe nothing ; be liberal to the poor, and kind to all." 
With regard to their children, he wrote : " Let their learning be liberal ; 
spare no cost, for by such parsimony all is lost that is saved." 

Penn .took out with him one hundred emigrants, and reached New- 
castle on the 27th of October, 1682, after a long and trying voyage. In 
the presence of the Swedish, Dutch and English settlers, who welcomed 
him with joy, he took formal possession of the province, which was sur- 
rendered to him by the agents of the Duke of York. He pledged 
himself to the people to grant them liberty of conscience and all their 
civil privileges. From Newcastle Penn went up the river to Chester, 
where a settlement had been formed by emigrants from the north of 
England, Avho had jireceded him. 

Early in November, accompanied by a few friends, Penn ascended the 
Delaware in an open boat to the mouth of the Schuylkill, and passing a 
little distance beyond this landed on the beautiful site now occupied by 
the city of Philadeli)hia. The place at which he landed was long known 
as the " Blue Anchor Landing," from a tavern of that name which stood 
there. A little later, under a spreading elm, Penn met the chiefs of the 



COLONIZATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



261 



neighboring Indian tribes, and entered into a treaty of peace and friend- 
slaip with them. This treaty was confirmed by no oath, but it remained 
unbroken for fifty years, and as neither side sought to evade its obli- 
gations, which were simply of peace and good will, the colony of 
Pennsylvania escaped in its earlier years the horrors of a savage warfare 
from which the other settlers suffered. " We will live," said the Indian 
sachems, " in love with William Penn and his children as long as the 
moon and the sun shall endure." They kept their word. " Penn came 
without arms ; he declared his purpose to abstain from violence ; he had 
no message but peace ; and not a drop of Quaker blood was ever shed by 
an Indian." The scene of the treaty was at Shackamaxon, now Ken- 
sington, in the city of Philadelphia. 




PENN S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS. 



On the pleasant tract lying between the Delaware and the Schuylkill, 
which was purchased from the Swedes, who had on their part purchased 
it from the Indians, Penn in 1683 laid out the capital of his province, 
which he named Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love, in token 
of the principles which he meant should constitute the common law of 
his possessions. It was abundantly supplied with streams of pure water, 
and was admirably situated for purposes of trade. He did not wish it to 
be built after the manner of European cities, but designed it to be a 
"greene country town, gardens round each house, that it might never be 
burned, and always be wholesome." The streets were laid oif by mark- 
ing tlieir course through the primitive forest by blazing the trees, and the 



262 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



building of dwellings was begun. In the first year of Penn's arrival in 
the colony, twenty-three ships with emigrants arrived in Pennsylvania. 
In three years after its foundation Philadelphia contained upwards of 
six hundred houses, and the colony had a population of ten thousand. 
The Indians proved the firm friends of the colonists, and supplied 
them with wild fowl and venison in return for articles of European 
manufacture. 

Penn from the first refused to retain in his hands the exercise of the 
vast powers with which the charter granted him by the king invested 
him. As early as December, 1682, he convened a general convention of 
the people, and gave them a charter of liberties which Bancroft thus 
sums up : " God was declared the only Lord of conscience ; the first day 
of the week was reserved as a day of leisure, for the ease of the creation. 
The rule of equality was introduced into families by abrogating the 
privileges of primogeniture. The word of an honest man Avas evidence 

without an oath. 
The mad spirit of 
speculation was 
checked by a system 
of strict accounta- 
bility, applied to 
factors and agents. 
Every man liable to 
civil burdens pos- 
sessed the right of 
suffrage ; and, with- 
out regard to sect, 
every Christian was eligible to office. No tax or custom could be levied 
but by law. The Quaker is a spiritualist ; the pleasures of the senses, 
masks, revels and stage plays, not less than bull-baits and cock-fights, 
were prohibited. Murder was the only crime punishable by deiith. 
Marriage was esteemed a civil contract; adultery a felony. The Quakers 
had suffered wrong from imprisonment ; the false accuser was liable to 
double damages. Every prison for convicts was made a workhouse. 
There were neither poor-rates nor tithes. The Swedes, and Finns, and 
Dutch were invested with the liberties of Englishmen." * In March, 
1683, the first general assembly of Pennsylvania met at Philadelphia. 
" I am ready," said Penn to this body, " to settle such foundations as 
may be for your happiness." Under the guidance of the founder of the 




PENN LAYING OUT THE PLAN OF PHILADELPHIA. 



* Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. ii., p. 385. 



COLONIZATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



263 



colony, the assembly established a constitution which made Pennsylvania 
emphatically a free state. A government was established, consisting of a 
governor, a legislative council and an assembly composed of representa- 
tives of the people. As the charter made the proprietor responsible to 
the king for the legislation of the colony, no act of legislation was to be 
valid until it had passed the great seal of the province. With this 
exception the entire power of the province was left in the hands of the 
people. " But for the hereditary office of proprietary, Pennsylvania had 
been a representative democracy. In Maryland, the council was named 
by Lord Baltimore ; in Pennsylvania, by the people. In Maryland, the 
power of appointing magistrates, and all, even the subordinate executive 
officers, rested solely with the proprietary; in Pennsylvania, William 
Penn could not appoint a justice or a constable ; every executive officer, 
except the highest, 
was elected by the 
people or their re- 
presentatives ; and 
the governor could 
perform no public 
act, but with the 
consent of the 
council. Lord Bal- 
timore had a reve- 
nue derived from 
the export of to- 
bacco, the staple 
of Maryland ; and 
his colony was 

burdened with taxes : a similar revenue was offered to William Penn, 
and declined, and tax-gatherers were unknown in his province." 

Thus did the "Quaker king" complete one of the sublimest sur- 
renders of political power in all the annals of history. " I desired," 
he said, in his grand simplicity, " to show men as free and happy as they 
can be." 

The colony improved rapidly. Men were attracted from all parts of 
Great Britain, from Ireland, the Low countries, from Germany and 
Sweden, to Pennsylvania. The personal character of William Penn, not 
less than the advantages afforded them, induced them to settle in the 
happy colony. Philadelphia especially grew with rapidity, and already 
gave promise of becoming the principal city of colonial America. Schools 
were opened, and liberally encouraged, for ignorance had no advocates in 





ii.,.. 


~:^^^^^^^^^^^B 


"'^1 


^i[i?#fe^= 




1 s --' 




II 


■»^ 



SKTTLEMENT OF PHILADELPHIA. 



264 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



this thrifty community. The printing press was also set up, and put 
to work. 

In August, 1684, Penn, having successfully established his colony, 
took an affectionate leave of his people, and returned to England to look 
after his family. He reached England in October. 

Lord Baltimore claimed Delaware as a part of the country granted to 
him. Penn sustained his claim to that region by pleading the actual 
settlement of the Dutch previous to the grant to Lord Baltimore, and his 
purchase of the rights which the Duke of York had derived from the 
Dutch. The English courts decided, in 1685, that Delaware did not 
constitute a part of Maryland, and sustained Penn's claim to the 
former colony. The boundaries of the two colonies were settled by a 
compromise. 

During Penn's absence in England the people of Delaware, who had 
little sympathy with the Quakers, began to be restless. They presented to 

the proprie- 
tary a list of 
grievances, 
and were 
granted by 
Penn a sepa- 
rate govern- 
ment. 

The fall of 
James II., 
who continu- 
ed the friend 
of William 
Penn, thougli 

so widely opposed to him in religion, M'as the beginning of trouble 
for the proprietor of Pennsylvania. Penn did not relinquish his 
friendship for the dethroned king, and his enemies made this constancy, 
which in no way interfered with his loyalty to William and Mary, the 
means of injuring him in the estimation of the new king. AVilliam was 
induced to believe the charges of disloyalty which were brought against 
Penn, and deprived him of his patent and proprietorship of Pennsyl- 
vania. Penn was also imprisoned several times for disloyalty. 

During this period the colony was nuich annoyed by a disturbance led 
by one George Keith, Avho pushed the Quaker doctrine of non-resistance 
to the verge of absurdity. He argued that no Quaker could with con- 
sistency take part in 2)ublic affairs as a magistrate or legislator. As the 




penn's treaty monujient. 



COLONIZATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



265 



liberties of the colony were the work of Quakers the inference was plain. 
If Keith was right, then Pennsylvania had no lawful government, and 
must apply to the king for one. Keith produced such trouble in the 
colony that even the tolerant Quakers were at length obliged to lay hands 
on him. He was 
tried and fined for 
using seditious lan- 
guage; but lest their 
action should seem 
to be a punishment 
of opinion the Qua- 
ker magistrates re- 
mitted the fine. He 
subsequently be- 
came a clergyman of 
the English Church. 
This disturbance 
gave the king a pre- 
text for declaring 
Pennsylvania a 
royal province, and 
in April, 1693, Ben- 
jamin Fletcher was 
appointed by Wil- 
liam and Mary gov- 
ernor of Pennsyl- 
vania, to which pro- 
vince Delaware was 
reunited. The peo- 
ple, indignant at this 
invasion of their 
rights, attempted no 
resistance, but re- 
fused to recognize 
the royalist gov- 
ernor. Some of the magistrates resigned their offices upon his arrival. 
Upon the meeting of the assembly the hostility to Fletcher increased. 
The members of the assembly declared the laws they had made under the 
charter granted to Penn to be valid, and refused to have new ones, or 
recognize any other authority. A charter granted by King Charles was, 
they maintained, as valid as one granted by King William, and they re- 




CHESTNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA, IN 1875. 



266 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



fused to re-enact their old laws, as such a course would be to brand them 
as illegal. Fletcher demanded that the assembly should appropriate a 
sum for the defence of New York against the Indians. His demand w^as 
flatly refused. The assembly was willing, however, to make an appro- 
priation for the relief of the people of New York who had suffered by this 
war, but only upon condition that this sum should be disbursed by officers 
of its own appointment. Fletcher refused to consent to this condition, 
as he regarded it as an infringement of the king's prerogative, and the 
assembly was dissolved, a. d. 1694. 

In the meantime Penn had been restored to his proprietary rights. 
The king expressed himself satisfied of his innocence, which was estab- 




UNIVEKSITY OF PEimSYl.VANIA. 



lished before the council, and in August, 1694, the patent for his restora- 
tion was formally issued. Penn was anxious to return to Pennsylvania, 
but was detained in England by his inability to raise the funds necessary 
for the voyage. He had spent a large part of his fortune in plantmg the 
colony, and the persecutions and annoyances to which he had been sub- 
jected in England had caused him great loss. Nor was this his only 
trouble. His wife and eldest son had died during his trials, and some 
whom he had imagined his friends in his prosperity had in his adversity 
shown themselves his enemies. He retained his serenity of mind, how- 
ever, and persevered in the good work to which he had devoted his life. 
Being unable to go to Pennsylvania he sent his nephew, Markham, as 



COLONIZATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 267 

his deputy. Markham summoned an assembly, and this body, alarmed 
at the recent changes in their charter, which had threatened to deprive 
them of their political rights, endeavored to provide against a recurrence 
of the danger by assuming the power of framing a constitution for them- 
selves. The assembly of 1696 made still further changes, and placed the 
control of the colonial government entirely in the hands of the people by 
giving them the election of all the officials of the province. 

Penn returned to Pennsylvania in November, 1699, and sanctioned the 
action of the people. One of the members of the council proposed that 
they should make a constitution that should be "firm and lasting" to 
them and to their descendants. " Keep what is good in the charter and 
frame of government," said Penn ; " and lay aside what is burdensome, 
and add what may best suit the common good." It was agreed by all 
parties that it would be best to surrender the old charter and frame a 
new constitution. This was attended with considerable difficulty, as 
Delaware dreaded the loss of its independence. It was conciliated by 
being given its own legislature, but was under the administration of the 
governor of Pennsylvania. The two Colonies were never again united. 
The constitution secured to the people all the political privileges they 
claimed. Penn, whose sole desire was for the welfare of the colony, held 
back nothing for himself. 

Among the earliest emigrants to Pennsylvania were many Germans, 
who had been converted to the Quaker doctrines by William Penn dur- 
ing his missionary laboi-s on the continent of Europe. They settled at 
Germantown, to Avhich they gave its name. Towards the close of the 
seventeenth century the severe wars in Europe drove out large numbers 
of Germans from the Rhine valley. They sought refuge in England at 
first, and from that country passed over to Pennsylvania. They were 
chiefly Lutherans, and members of the German Reformed Church. They 
settled chiefly in the southern part of Pennsylvania, and clung together 
instead of separating, thus giving to this part of the State the peculiar 
characteristics which distinguish it to the present day. They held aloof 
from the English, and allowed the German language alone to be taught 
to their children. They attracted other settlers from their native country, 
and the region occupied by them was soon thickly settled, and was noted 
as one of the best cultivated sections of the province. 

About the beginning of the eighteenth century a large emigration from 
the north of Ireland and from Scotland began to set in, and continued 
for some years. These people were nearly all Presbyterians, and located 
themselves chiefly in the eastern and central sections of the province. 
They were an energetic, industrious, and intelligent community, and set 



268 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



to work with a will to improve their new home. They advanced the 
frontier of Pennsylvania steadily westward by their new plantations, and 
proved themselves among the most desirable settlers that had yet come 
into the province. 

William Penn had come to Pennsylvania with the intention of passing 
the remainder of his life there; but rumors now began to reach the 
colony that it was the intention of the crown to deprive Pennsylvania of 

its charter and make 
it a royal province. 
These reports made 
it necessary for Penn 
to return to Eng- 
land, a step to which 
nothing but th€ im- 
portance of being 
near the home gov- 
ernment to defend 
the liberties- of his 
people could have 
forced him. He had 
done his work in 
America well, and 
could go back to his 
native land with the 
satisfaction that he 
had successfully laid 
the foundations of a 
great and rapidly- 
growing state, and 
had placed the liber- 
ties of its peo})le 
upon such a secure 
basis that they would 
endure for all time. 
He had founded a democracy, and had proved by the most generous sur- 
render of his truly regal powers that his chief aim in life was the good 
of his fellow-men. After making such arrangements as he deemed best 
for the welfare of his " young countrie," he went back to England in 1701. 
There were not wanting eiforts after his arrival in England to de})rive 
him of his proprietary rights and to convert Pennsylvania into a royal 
province; but the deep reverence with which the English people had now 




MASONIC TEMPLE, PHILADELPHIA, IN 1875. 



COLONIZATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 269 

come to regard the virtues of William Penn prevented the consummation 
of these designs, and saved the people of Pennsylvania from the rule of 
royal governors, such as plundered the sister province of New York. 
The crown could never be persuaded to rob the man whose pure life was 
an honor to the nation. In his last years Penn was so poor that he was 
for a while an inmate of a debtors' prison. He had bought the province 
of Pennsylvania from Charles II., and had confirmed his claim by pur- 
chasing the lands from the Indians, so that he was absolute owner of the 
unoccupied lands of the colony. He thus had it in his power to relieve 
his distress by selling his claims, but in his deepest poverty he refused to 
part with Pennsylvania, except upon terras which would secure to his 
people the full and perfect enjoyment of the liberties he had guaranteed 
them. He died in 1718, peacefully, and amid the sympathy of his coun- 
trymen in England, and the sorrow of those whom he had befriended in 
his beloved Pennsylvania. By his pure life he won for the people of his 
faith the respect of all candid men, and by his fidelity to the principles he 
professed he became the benefactor of millions who will ever count it a 
privilege to honor his name. 

Penn left three sons, who were all minors at the time of his death. 
They succeeded to his rights as proprietary of Pennsylvania, and the 
government of the colony was administered for them by deputies until the 
Revolution, when their claims were purchased by the State. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 

SETTLEMENT OF THE CAROLINAS. 

Gradual Settlement of North Carolina from Virginia — Charles II. grants Carolina to 
Clarendon and others — The "Grand Model" — An Ideal Aristocracy Proposed for 
Carolina — Tlie Autliority of the Proprietaries Establislied in North Carolina — Continued 
Settlement of that Region — Characteristics of the Early Settlers of North Carolina — 
The People Reject the Grand Model — Hostility of England to the Colonial Commerce — 
Insurrection in North Carolina — Slotliel Governor — Settlement of South Carolina — 
Cliarleston Founded — The Proprietary Constitutions Rejected by South Carolina — Rapid 
Growth of the Colony — Introduction of Slavery — Characteristics of the Early Settlers 
of South Carolina — Efforts to Enforce the Navigation Acts — Resistance of the People — 
Tlie Proprietaries Abandon their Constitutions — Archdale's Reforms — Religious Intoler- 
ance — Establishment of the Church of England in South Carolina — Action of the 
Crown — Continued Prosperity of South Carolina — Governor Moore Attacks St. Augus- 
tine — Failure of the Effort — Tlie Spaniards are Repulsed in an Attempt to Capture 
Charleston — Indian War in Nortii Carolina — The Tuscaroras Driven Northward — War 
with the Yemmassees — Destruction of their Power — Separation of the Carolinas. 

^ I'tll E have related the efforts of tlie French to colonize the shores of 
the beautiful region which they named Carolina, and the failure 
of Raleigh's attempt to found a city uj)on Roanoke island. Vie 
have now to consider the successful planting of this same region 
Avith English settlements. 
After the settlement of Virginia the attention of the English was fre- 
quently drawn to the fertile region south of the James, and as their plan- 
tations spread in that direction adventurous explorers went into this 
region, and returned with reports of its great beauty and fertility. 
When the severe measures of the Virginia colony for enforcing conformity 
to the established church were put in operation, many dissenters with- 
drew from the limits of the colony and settled in what are now the north- 
eastern comities of Nortli Carolina. Among these were a company of 
Presbyterians, who settled upon the Chowan. Others followed them, and 
by the year 16G3 those counties contained a prosperous and growing 
community of English-speaking people. 

In 1663 Charles II., who always displayed the most remarkable liber- 
ality in his gifts of American lands, granted to eight of his fivoritos the 
vast region extending from the present southern boundary of Virginia to 
the St. John's river in Florida, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
270 




SETTLEMENT OF THE CAR0LINA8. 271 

Those upon whom this rich gift was bestowed were the Earl of Claren- 
don, the prime minister, Lord Ashley Cooper, who was afterwards Earl 
of Shaftesbury, the Duke of Albemarle, Lord Craven, Sir John Colleton, 
Lord John Berkeley, his brother. Sir William Berkeley, the governor of 
Virginia, and Sir George Cartaret. They were given absolute power 
over their territory, the king reserving only a claim upon their allegiance. 
The country had been called Carolina by the first French settlers in 
honor of Charles IX. of France ; the old name was retained in honor of 
Charles 11. of England. 

The proprietors had but one object in view : to enrich themselves ; but 
they claimed to be influenced by a "pious zeal for the propagation of the 
gospel." They at once set to work to prepare a code of laws for the 
government of their province. This task was committed to Ashley 
Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury, and the great philosopher, John Locke, then 
an almost unknown man. These produced a code known as " The Grand 
Model," or " Fundamental Constitutions." This was a system which 
might have been successful if the 
people for whom it was intended 
had been some European com- 
munity of the Middle Ages, but it 
was utterly unsuited to a colony in 
the woods of America, composed of 
men whose personal independence 
and sturdy love of freedom were 
the indispensable conditions of the success of their enterprise. By the 
terms of the " Grand Model " an order of nobility was created, into whose 
hands the sole right to rule was committed. Earls, barons, and squires 
were made the natural heads of the various classes of society, and the 
common people were attached to the soil as tenants. A simple tenant 
could never rise above his humble position, and was denied the right of 
suffrage ; only those who possessed fifty acres of land were allowed this 
right, or were entitled to the name of freemen. The freemen were 
allowed an assembly, but that body was placed entirely under the control 
of the nobility. Religious freedom was promised to all persons, but the 
constitution expressly declared that the only orthodox establishment was 
the Church of England. Trial by jury was guaranteed, but with the 
destructive provision that a majority should decide the verdict of the jury. 

It was very clear that this magnificent constitution would not suit the 
settlers in the log cabins of North Carolina, but the proprietors, ignorant 
of the people they had to deal with, proceeded to organize their govern- 
ment in England by electing the Duke of Albemarle to the rank of 




COAT OF ARMS OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



272 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Palatine, as the head of their system was termed. Sir WiHiam Berkeley, 
then governor of Virginia, was ordered to establish the authority of the 
proprietors over the settlers on Albemarle sound. This he did, and 
appointed William Drummond, a Scotchman and one of the settlers, 
governor. This was the same Drummond who afterwards took part in 
Bacon's rebellion in Virginia, and was hanged by Berkeley, as has been 
related. A simple form of government was established, and the people 
of North Carolina were left in peace until it should be time to collect 
the quit-rents which the proprietors claimed as due for their occupation 
of their lands. 

In 1661, a few years previous to this action of Berkeley, a company 
from New England had made a settlement on the Cape Fear river. The 
colony did not prosper, however, though liberal inducements were held 
out to it, and many of the emigrants returned home. In 1664 a colony 
from the Barbadoes joined the settlers on the Cape Fear. The new- 
comers had been sent out by a company at the Barbadoes, who purchased 
from the Indians a tract of land thirty-two miles square on the Cape 
Fear, and asked of the proprietors of Carolina a confirmation of their 
purchase and a separate charter of government. A liberal charter was 
granted them, the country was named Clarendon, and Sir John Yeamans, 
a resident of Barbadoes, was appointed governor. He was instructed to 
" make things easy to the people of New England ; from thence the 
greatest supplies are expected." In 1665 he led a company of emigrants 
from Barbadoes, and formed a settlement on the Cape Fear. The effort 
to found a town was unsuccessful, and the emigrants found great diffi- 
culty in contending against the natural barrenness and poverty of the 
region in which they had located. They devoted themselves to the 
cutting and export of lumber, and established a trade in boards, staves 
and shingles to the West Indies, which is still carried on by their de- 
scendants. This trade was found to be profitable, and emigration 
increased. In 1666 the colony is said to have had a population of 
eight hundred souls. 

In the meantime the settlements on Albemarle sound and the Chowan 
had prospered, and had increased steadily in population, under the simple 
government established over them. This government consisted of a 
council of six persons named by the proprietaries and six chosen by the 
assembly, and an assembly consisting of the governor, the council and 
twelve representatives chosen by the freeholders of the colony. The 
proprietaries had confirmed the colonists in the possession of their lands, 
and had solemnly promised them religious toleration and exemption 
from taxation except by the colonial legislature. In 1669 the assembly, 



SETTLEMENT OF TEE CAROLINAS. 273 

feeling secure in these guarantees, enacted a series of laws for the gov- 
ernment of the colony, which remained in force in North Carolina until 
near the close of the next century. It was enacted that no emigrant 
should be sued for a debt contracted before his settlement in the colony 
until he had been a resident of the province for five years. Marriage 
was made a civil contract, and for its validity required simply the con- 
sent of the contracting parties before a magistrate in the presence of 
witnesses. No emigrant could be taxed during his first year's residence 
in the colony. New settlers were invited by the offer of large bounties 
in lands, but no title to these lands could be obtained until after a two 
years' residence in the colony. The governor's salary and the other 
expenses of the province were secured by the imposition of a fee of thirty 
pounds of tobacco in every law suit. The members of the assembly 
served without compensation. 

In 1670 the constitution of Shaftesbury and Locke was sent over by 
the proprietaries, and the governor was ordered to establish it in the 
colony. It met with a determined resistance from both legislature and 
people, who could never be induced to submit to it. 

The people upon whom the proprietaries endeavored to force their 
" Grand Model " were in many respects the most singular community in 
America. Many of them had fled from injustice and persecution in other 
colonies, and in the solitude of the forests of North Carolina had become 
possessed of an independence which scorned any control but that of the 
government established by their own consent. The plantations were 
chiefly along the rivers and the shores of Albemarle sound ; there were 
no roads but the paths marked through the forests by the blazing of the 
trees; the inhabitants visited each other and travelled through the 
country in their boats, scarcely any, even among the women and children, 
being unacquainted with the use of the oar. The people were attached 
to their beautiful "summer land," and to the freedom which they enjoyed 
in it. They had little use for laws, for they were mainly a simple- 
hearted and virtuous race, who, by pursuing the paths of right, gave no 
cause for restraint. They had no court-house until 1722. Their first 
church was not built until 1705, and the freedom of conscience which 
they enjoyed was perfect. Yet they were a God-fearing people, and 
George Fox, who visited them in 1672, testifies to their readiness to hear 
the word of God and to their homely virtues. They were cut off from 
the world, careless of the struggles which rocked Europe to its founda- 
tions, and anxious only to live in the ^'^eaceful enjoyment of the good 
things God had given them, and to rea nla^ir children in the ways which 
they deemed conformable to his will. . V § '^'^re no towns in the colony, 
18 '"-^^ 



274 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and in power and importanco- North Carolina could not compare with any 
of her more northern sisters ; but there were no communities in which 
the people were happier or more contented than in this one. When the 
cruelties of Berkeley drove many of the Virginians from their province, 
they fled to North Carolina, and were kindly received by the people, who 
treated Berkeley's demands to surrender the refugees for punishment with 
contempt. "Are there any who doubt man's capacity for self-govern- 
ment, let them study the early history of North Carolina; its inhabitants 
were restless and turbulent in their imperfect submission to a government 
imposed on them from abroad; the administration of the colony was firm, 
humane and tranquil, when they were left to take care of themselves. 
Any government but one of their own institution was oppressive." * 

These were the people for whom the " Grand Model " was designed, 
and Avho successfully resisted its imposition. The proprietaries had 
withdrawn the government they had first established, at the time when 
the constitutions of Shaftesbury and Locke were offered to the colony, 
and the refusal of these constitutions by the colonists left North Carolina 
without any regularly established system of government. In this state 
of affairs Stevens, the governor, continued to administer the old system 
until a settlement of the matter in dispute could be had. He died in 
1674, and the assembly elected Cartwright, their speaker, as his successor, 
by whom the government was administered for two years. Eastchurch, 
the new speaker, was sent to England to explain the grievances of the 
colony to the proprietaries, and to endeavor to secure the withdrawal of 
the obnoxious constitution. Without withdrawing their favorite system, 
the proprietaries, who were disposed to conciliate the colony, thought 
best to leave matters in their present condition, and appointed East- 
church governor. They did away with much of the good effect of this 
measure by coupling this appointment with that of Miller as collector of 
customs. He had been driven out of the colony by the people some 
time before, and he was now sent to compel the payment of the revenues 
claimed by the proprietaries, and to enforce the navigation acts in North 
Carolina. 

The enforcement of the navigation acts meant simply the certain 

crippling and the probable ruin of the industry of North Carolina. The 

commerce of the colony was small, and was already struggling against 

natural difficulties. The whole province contained a little less than four 

thousand inhabitants, and its exports consisted of about eight hundred 

hogsheads of tobacco, a small quantity of Indian corn, and a few cattle. 

These were shipped in a few thall vessels which came for them from 

^o 

* Bancroft's Histonj of the United States, vol. ii., p. 158. 



SETTLEMENT OF THE CAROLINAS. 



275 



New England, and brought in return the few articles of foreign manu- 
facture which the planters could afford to purchase. Yet this humble 
trade was made the object of the envy of the English merchants, and it 
was resolved by a rigorous enforcement of the navigation acts to cut the 
North Carolinians off from the use of the New England markets, and to 
compel them to send their products to England for sale. Never was the 
iniquitous policy of England toward her colonies more strikingly and 
perfectly illustrated than in her treatment of North Carolina at this 
period. 

The effort to enforce the navigation act was met by a deliberately 
planned and executed insur- 
rection of the people, who 
published to the world a de- 
claration of the causes which 
had impelled them to this 
action, and which were chiefly 
the loss of their liberties by 
the changes in the govern- 
ment, the imposition of exces- 
sive taxes, and the interrup- 
tion of their commerce by the 
burdens laid upon it by the 
navigation acts. The leader 
of the movement was John 
Culpepper. One of the mem- 
bers of the council joined the' 
insurrection; but the rest, 
with Miller, who, in addition 
to his office of collector, had 
been acting as governor in the 
absence of Eastchurch, were 
arrested and imprisoned. 
When Eastchurch arrived, the 
colonists refused either to 
acknowledge his authority or to allow him to enter the colony. In the 
meantime they arranged matters upon the old popular system, and sent 
Culpepper and another of their number to England to negotiate a settle- 
ment with the proprietaries. 

Miller escaped from confinement and repaired to England to oppose 
the efforts of Culpepper. By cunningly making himself the champion of 
the navigation acts, Miller succeeded in arousing a strong sentiment 




A settler's cabin. 



276 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

against Culpepper, who was arrested on a charge of resisting the collec- 
tion of the revenue and embezzling the public funds. In support of this 
arbitrary act, the government pleaded an old statute of Henry VIII., 
by which a colonist could be arraigned in England for an offence com- 
mitted in a colony. Culpepper demanded to be tried in North Carolina, 
upon the scene of his alleged crime ; but this was refused him, and he 
was put on trial in England. The Earl of Shaftesbury^, slirewdly per- 
ceiving that such a course was repugnant to the real sentiment of the 
English people, and that it offered him an opportunity to increase his 
popularity, undertook the defence of Culpepper, and procured his 
acquittal. 

The proprietaries now appointed as governor one of their number, Seth 
Slothel, who had purchased the rights of Lord Clarendon. Slothel on 
his voyage out was captured by the Algerine pirates, and during his 
absQnce the government of North Carolina was administered by gov- 
ernors appointed by the insurgents, who seem to have acted with the 

consent, or at least without the 
opposition of the proprietaries, who 
were much at a loss to know how 
to enforce their authority in the 
province. They instructed the col- 
onists to " settle order among them- 
selves," and appear to have left 

COAT OF AKM8 OF SOUTH CAROLINA. ^i 1 x xl • 1 

them very much to their own de- 
vices. The government was well and fairly administered and order was 
maintained ; an act of amnesty was published ; and when Slothel reached 
the colony, in 1683, after his release from his captivity, he found it 
peaceful and orderly. 

The administration of Slothel was unfortunate for the province. He 
could enforce neither the constitutions of the proprietaries nor the navi- 
gation acts, as he was expected to do ; so he devoted his energies to the 
task of enriching himself, which he accomplished by robbing the colo- 
nists and defrauding his proprietary associates in England. In 1688 
the colonists, greatly exasperated by his exactions, to which they had 
submitted for about live years, drove him out of the province by con- 
demning him to an exile of a year, and forever disqualifying him from 
holding the office of governor. This was their boldest act yet, and was 
an open defiance of the proprietaries. 

In the meantime the southern portion of Carolina had been brought 
under English rule. In 1670 a company of emigrants was sent out by 
the proprietaries, under the direction of "William Sayle and Joseph "West, 




SETTLEMENT OF THE CAROLINAS. 277 

the latter of whom was the commercial agent of the proprietaries. They 
went by way of Barbadoes, and landed at Port Royal, where the ruins 
of Fort Carolina, which had been erected by the French, were still to be 
seen. After a short delay here, they removed to a more favorable loca- 
tion farther northward, between two rivers, which they named the 
Ashley and Cooper, in honor of the Earl of Shaftesbury, one of the pro- 
prietaries. In 1680 this settlement was abandoned for a better situation 
nearer the harbor. This last settlement was the foundation of the city 
of Charleston. The first plantation on the Ashley river was afterwards 
known as Old Charleston. At present not even a log cabin remains to 
mark the site. 

The emigrants to South Carolina had been furnished with a copy of 
the constitutions of Shaftesbury and Locke ; but they were as averse to 
the acceptance of them as were the people of North Carolina, for they 
perceived that such a system as that devised by the proprietaries could 
not be put in operation in America. Immediately uj^on their arrival 
tliey proceeded to establish a form of government suited to their needs. 
It consisted of a governor, a council composed of five members appointed 
by the proprietaries and five by the assembly, and an assembly of twenty 
delegates chosen by the people. Thus was representative government 
established as the basis of the political life of the province, and through- 
out all her subsequent history it was cherished by South Carolina as her 
most precious possession. 

The colony grew rapidly in population ; the delightful climate, the 
rich soil, and the liberal offers of lands by the proprietaries attracting 
settlers in considerable numbers. In 1671 Sir John Yeamans brought 
over African slaves from Barbadoes, thus introducing negro slavery into 
the colony at the very outset of its existence. This species of labor being 
found well suited to the necessities of the province was generally adopted 
in the remaining years of the century, and became the basis of the 
industry of South Carolina, which was from the first a purely agricul- 
tural State. The negroes multiplied rapidly by natural increase and by 
fresh importations ; " so rapidly," says Bancroft, " that in a few years, we 
are told, the blacks were to the whites in the proportion of twenty-two to 
twelve ; a proportion that had no parallel north of the West Indies." 

The white population also increased rapidly. The dissenters, as all 
the Protestant sects who differed from the Church of England were 
called, came over to the colony in large numbers, hoping to find there 
the toleration they were denied at home. They consisted of Dutch and 
German Protestants, and Presbyterians from the north of Ireland and 
from Scotland. The last were generally people of culture, and gave to 



278 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the colony many clergymen, physicians, lawyers, and schoolmasters. 
Churchmen from England also emigrated in considerable numbers, as the 
" Grand Model " established their church as the orthodox faith of the 
province. Dutch emigrants came also from New York to escape the 
outrages of the English governors of that province. Last of all were the 
Huguenots, who were induced to settle in South Carolina by Charles II., 
who was sincerely anxious to give them a refuge from their persecutions 
in Europe, and who wished them to establish in Carolina the culture of 
the vine, the olive, and the silk-worm. The revocation of the Edict of 
Nantes drove thousands of the Huguenots from France. Large numbers 
of them joined their brethren in South Carolina. They were almost 
invariably persons of education and refinement. In France they had 
constituted the most useful and intelligent part of the population. They 
had almost monopolized the mechanical skill and mercantile enterprise 
of their native land, and their loss was severely felt by it for many gener- 
ations. In South Carolina they soon became sufficiently numerous to 
constitute an important part of the population, and their influence was 
felt in a marked degree, and for the good of the colony. They brought 
with them the virtues which had won them the respect and confidence 
of the people of Europe, and the industry which could not fail to place 
them among the most prosperous citizens of the new state. They mingled 
freely and intermarried with the other classes of the people of the 
province, and thus became the ancestors of a splendid race who did honor 
to their country and upheld her cause with their valor in her hour of 
trial in the next century. 

The early years of South Carolina -were niarkcd by a constant struggle 
between the colonists and the jiroprictaries. The latter vainly attempted 
to introduce the "Grand Model" as the law of the province, and the 
former steadily resisted it. A little later the proprietaries offered to make 
some modifications in their constitutions, but these concessions were re- 
jected also. The governor. Sir John Yeamans, regarded his office solely 
as a means of repairing his fortunes at the expense of both proprietaries 
and colonists, and was dismissed by his employers. West, who was a 
man of ability and liberality, was appointed his successor, and under him 
the colony prospered, but, as he was too friendly to the people, he was 
removed also. 

In 1684 a small colony under Lord Cardross, a Presbyterian, settled 
at Port Royal. These settlers had fled to America to escape persecution 
in England, but their effort to find an abiding place in the new world 
was not destined to be successful. Ijord Cardross returned to Europe in 
a year or two, and in 1686 the Spaniards from St. Augustine, who 



SETTLEMENT OF THE CAROLINAS. 279 

claimed the region as a dependency of their own, invaded the little settle- 
ment and laid it waste. Of the ten families which had constituted the 
colony, some returned to Scotland, while the remainder disappeared 
among the colonists in the vicinity of the Cooper and Ashley rivers. 

In 1685 the proprietaries ordered the colonial authorities to enforce 
the navigation acts in the ports of the province. A rigid execution of 
this order would have been as fatal to the feeble commerce of South 
Carolina as to that of the settlements in the northern part of the prov- 
ince, and it was resisted by the colonists as a violation of their natural 
rights and of the promises made to them at the time of their emigration. 
In order to establish their authority more firmly the proprietaries 
appointed James Colleton governor, with the rank of landgrave. He 
was the brother of one of the proprietaries, and it was supposed that this 
fact and his aristocratic rank would give him a moral power which his 
predecessors had not possessed. The new governor attempted to enforce 
the constitutions, but was met with a determined resistance, and when he 
undertook to collect the rents claimed by the proprietaries, and the taxes 
he had been ordered to levy, the assembly seized the records of the prov- 
ince, imprisoned the colonial secretary, and defied the governor to exe- 
cute his orders. In 1690 they went still further, and having proclaimed 
William and Mary, disfranchised Colleton, and banished him from South 
Carolina. 

Disputes now ran high in the colony, chiefly in regard to rents and 
land tenures. The "cavaliers and ill-livers," as the party devoted to 
the interests of the proprietaries was termed, endeavored to compel the 
remainder of the settlers — the Presbyterians, Quakers, and Huguenots, 
the last of whom had recently been admitted to all the privileges of citi- 
zenship — to submit to their high-handed measures. They hoped among 
other things to secure the supremacy of the Church of England in the 
colony, notwithstanding the fact that a majority of the people were dis- 
senters. The troubles went on increasing, and at length the proprietors, 
in the hope of putting an end to them, consented to abandon their effort 
to force upon the Carolinas the legislation of Shaftesbury and Locke. 
In April, 1693, they abolished the fundamental constitutions by a formal 
vote, and decided to allow the government of the province to be con- 
ducted according to the terms of the charter. 

Thomas Smith was appointed governor, but in spite of his many vir- 
tues he was unacceptable to the people, and the proprietaries determined 
to send out to Carolina one of their own number with full powers to 
investigate and remedy the grievances of the colony. John Archdale, 
" an honest member of the Society of Friends," was chosen, and at once 



280 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

repaired to Carolina. He was a man of great moderation, and was well 
suited to the task before him. He succeeded in harmonizing the hostile 
factions which divided the province, and in the formation of the council 
selected two men of the moderate party to one high churchman, an 
arrangement which fairly represented the actual state of parties, and gave 
satisfaction to the mass of the people. He remitted the quit-rents for 
three and four years, and arranged the price of lands and the system of 
conveyances upon an equitable basis, and gave the colonists the privilege 
of paying their dues to the proprietaries either in money or in produce. 
He established peaceful relations with the Indians, and put an end to the 
■ infamous practice of kidnapping them, which had prevailed since the 
establishment of the colony. The savages in the Cape Fear region had 
suffered especially from this, and now showed their gratitude by treating 
with kindness the sailors who were cast away on their coast. Friendly 
relations were also begun with the Spaniards at St. Augustine. Several 
Yemmassee Indians, who had been converted by the missionaries, having 
been captured and exposed for sale in Carolina, were ransomed by Arch- 
dale, who sent them to the governor of St. Augustine. The Spaniard 
gratefully acknowledged this kindness, and returned it by forwarding to 
South Carolina the crew of an English vessel which had gone ashore on 
the coast of Florida. The colonial government was organized by Arch- 
dale on a plan similar to that of Maryland. The council was appointed 
by the proprietaries, and the assembly elected by the people; and the 
militia were charged with the defence of the colony. Archdale's admin- 
istration was so satisfactory to all parties that upon his withdrawal from 
the province the assembly declared that he had, " by his wisdom, patience, 
and labor, laid a firm foundation for a most glorious superstructure." 

Archdale went back to England in 1697, and the proprietaries, failing 
to profit by the lesson of his success, attempted to introduce a measure 
which would give the political power of the colony exclusively into the 
hands of the landowners. This measure was resolutely rejected by the 
colonial assembly. The majority of the people of the colony were, as 
has been stated, dissenters, Presbyterians, Quakers, and Huguenots. 
They had consented, in order to pacify the high church party, that one 
minister of the Church of England should be maintained at the public 
expense, but the churchmen were resolved to force their system upon 
them. In 1704 the churchmen had a majority of one in the assembly; 
the governor was favorable to them, and the council was no longer 
arranged upon the just plan of Archdale. The assembly, in violation of 
the plainest principles of justice, disfranchised the dissenters, and estab- 
lished the Church of England as the religion of the colony. This action 



SETTLEMENT OF THE CAROLINAS. 281 

was approved by the council and governor, and was sustained by the pro- 
prietaries in spite of the earnest opposition of Archdale. The disfran- 
chised people appealed for justice to the queen and the House of Lords. 
The committee of the lords declared that the proprietaries had forfeited 
their charter, and advised its recall, and the house pronounced the intol- 
erant acts null and void, which decision was proclaimed by the queen in 
June, 1706. In November of the same year the colonial legislature re- 
pealed its acts, and restored to the dissenters their political rights, but 
the laws establishing the Church of England as the religion of the 
province remained unrepealed until the Revolution. 

The disputes in the colony went on, but in spite of them South Caro- 
lina continued to prosper, and its population increased rapidly. During 
Archdale's residence in the colony the captain of a ship from Madagascar 
gave him some rice, which he distributed among the planters for the 
purpose of ascertaining whether it could be cultivated in the maritime 
regions of the province, which were unsuited to the culture of wheat. 
The experiment was entirely successful, and the colony at once embarked 
in the culture of rice, which has ever since been one of its principal 
industries. Carolina rice soon took rank as the best grown in any 
country. The fur trade was also carried on with great activity, and the 
manufacture of tar and the export of lumber also became prominent 
sources of wealth. It was believed that the colony could successfully 
manufacture a large part of the woollen fabrics necessary to the supply 
of its wants, and the attempt was made. It was struck down by the 
British government in pursuance of its plan to compel the colonies to 
depend upon England for all their supplies. Parliament forbade the 
several colonies to export woollen goods to any other province or to any 
foreign port. They were to ship their products to England alone, and to 
receive their supplies from her only. English merchants were to be 
privileged to set a price to suit their own interests upon the products of 
the colonies, and also upon the articles of European manufacture sold 
them in return. The eifect of this iniquitous law upon Carolina was to 
drive her back into agricultural pursuits, and thus to increase the 
demand for slaves, which was promptly supplied by British traders. 

In 1702 England was at war with France and Spain, and James 
Moore was governor of Carolina, He was a needy adventurer, who 
endeavored to fill his purse by kidnapping Indians and selling them as 
slaves. This being too slow a process, he determined to plunder the 
Spanish settlement of St. Augustine. He attacked that place with a 
force of whites and Indians. The town was readily taken, but he could 
make no impression upon the citadel, and despatched a vessel to Jamaica 



282 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



for cannon to reduce the fort. The garrison in the meantime sent an 
Indian runner to Mobile with news of their situation, and word was sent 
from Mobile to Havana. In a short while two Spanish ships of war 
arrived at St. Augustine to the relief of the garrison, and Moore was 
obliged to raise the siege. He abandoned his stores and retreated over- 
land to Charleston. The only result of his expedition was the accumula- 
tion of a debt which the colony was obliged to carry for many years. 

Moore's next effort was directed against the Appalachee Indians of 
Florida. These had been converted to the Roman Catholic faith by the 
Spanish missionaries, and had begun to adopt habits of civilization ; they 
lived in villages, and supported themselves by cultivating the soil. They 
were also very friendly to the French, who had settled Louisiana. 
Moore professed to be very apprehensive of the effects of the Spanish and 
French influence upon the Appalaehees, and declared his intention to 
cripple them before they could do any harm to the English settlements. 

His real motive was 
the hope of plunder. 
The only crime of 
the poor savages was 
their adoption of the 
Roman faith. In 
1705, with a force of 
about fifty white men 
and one thousand 
Seminole warriors, 

ATTACK OF THE SPANIARDS ON CHARLESTON IN 170G. ^[qq^Q iuVadcd the 

settlements of the Appalaehees, destroyed them, killed many of the 
natives, and made prisoners of large numbers, who were removed to the 
region of the Altamaha. The churches were plundered and destroyed, 
and the country of the Appalaehees Nvas given to the Seminoles as a 
reward for their services. They at once occupied it, and thus became a 
barrier between their English friends and the Spanish settlements. 

In 1706 the Spaniards and French sent a combined fleet to Charleston 
to avenge the attacks upon St. Augustine and the Appalaehees. The 
attack of the fleet was repulsed by the people, who were led by AV'illiam 
Rhet and Sir Nathaniel Johnson, and the assailants were forced to with- 
draw with the loss of one ship belonging to the French and upwards of 
three hundred men. 

North Carolina continued to prosper. Her people were happy and 
contented under their simple system of government, which was described 
by Spotswood as " scarce any government at all." In 1704 the proprie- 





2S3 



284 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

taries attempted to establish the Church of England in this part of their 
province, the people of which were nearly all Presbyterians, Quakers, 
and Lutherans. It was ordered that all who refused to submit to the 
laws for the establishment and support of tlie English church should be 
disfranchised. The people opposed a general and determines! resistance 
to this measure, and at the end of a year there was but one clergyman of 
the English church within the limits of the colony. The resistance 
finally culminated in open rebellion. The colony was divided into two 
parties, one of which sustained the authority of the proprietors, the other 
the rights of the people. Each party had its governor and assembly, and 
for six years the colony remained in a state of anarchy. The Quakers 
were the leading spirits of the popular party, and maintained their rights 
with a steadfastness characteristic of tlieir race. 

Thus far North Carolina had escaped a war with the Indians. The 
Tuscaroras, who occupied the central and northwestern portions of the 
present State, had emigrated at some remote period from the north, and 
they now viewed with jealousy and distrust the encroachments of the 
whites upon their lands. About 1711 the proprietaries assigned large 
tracts in the country of this tribe to a company of Germans from the 
region of the Neckar and the Rhine, who had fled to America to escape 
religious persecution. A company of these exiles had come out under 
the direction of De GrafFenreid, and in September, 1711, De Graffenreid 
accompanied Lawson, the surveyor-general of the province, in an expedi- 
tion up the Neuse, for the purpose of locating these lands and of ascer- 
taining how far the river was navigable. They were captured by a party 
of sixty Indians and hurried to a distant village of the Tuscaroras. 
Lawson was regarded with bitter hostility by the Indians, who looked 
upon him as responsible above all others for the loss of their lands, as he 
had been compelled by his duties to locate the grants of the proprietaries, 
and he was put to death with cruel torments. De Graffenreid was also 
condemned to die ; but he told the savages that he had been but a short 
time in the country, and that he was the " chief of a different tribe from 
the English," and promised that he "v^^ould take no more of their land. 
The Indians kept him a prisoner for five weeks, and then permitted him 
to return to his friends. During this time the Tuscaroras and Corees, 
whom they had drawn into an alliance with them, attacked the settle- 
ments of the whites on the Roanoke and Pamlico sound, and for three 
days spread death and devastation all along the frontier of the colony. 
A large number of the unoffending settlers were slain and many home- 
steads were destroyed. 

The people of North Carolina appealed to Virginia and South Carolina 



SETTLEMENT OF THE CAROLINAS. 285 

for assistance. South Carolina sent a small body of troops and a force 
of friendly Indians ; and Governor Spotswood of Virginia, unable to 
send assistance, engaged one tribe of the Tuscaroras in a treaty of peace. 
The people of North Carolina, divided by their internal dissensions, took 
scarcely any part in the struggle. The South Carolina forces attacked 
the Tuscaroras in their fort and compelled them to make peace. The 
troops, however, on their return home, violated the treaty by seizing some 
of the Indians for the purpose of selling them as slaves. The war broke 
out again, and was prosecuted with vigor for about a year, and resulted 
in the expulsion of the Tuscaroras from North Carolina. 

The Yemmassees had for some time been hostile to the Spaniards, as 
they resented the efforts of the priests to convert them to Christianity. 
They had acted as the allies of the English in the war with the Tusca- 
roras, but after the close of that struggle the unscrupulous traders, who 
regarded them as " a tame and peaceable people," had treated them so 
badly, and plundered them so systematically, that they were driven into 
hostility to the English. They thereupon renewed their friendship with 
the Spaniards, and induced the Catawbas, the Creeks, and Cherokees, 
who had also been friendly to the English, to join them against their 
former allies. In 1715 the savages, suddenly, and without warning, 
attacked the settlements on the frontier. The alarm was sent to Port 
Royal and Charleston, and the assailed people fled towards the settle- 
ments along the coast. The Indians continued their depredations, and 
the colony prepared as rapidly as possible to resist them. Aid was 
sent from North Carolina, whose government had now been placed 
on a more stable footing. Governor Craven took the field without delay, 
with such troops as he could raise, and a long and bloody struggle ensued. 
The power of the savages was broken, however. The Yemmassees were 
compelled to take refuge in Florida, where they were provided for by the 
Spaniards, and the other tribes were driven farther westward. 

The contests between the proprietaries and the colonists now came to 
an end. The proprietaries had made no effort to help the colonists during 
their struggle with the Indians, and the latter determined to have no 
more to do with their former lords. The dispute was carried before 
Parliament, which body declared that the proprietaries had forfeited their 
charter. In 1720 the king appointed Francis Nicholson provisional 
governor of Carolina. In 1729 the controversy was ended by the pur- 
chase of the proprietaries' interests by the crown for the sum of $110,000. 
Carolina thus became a royal province, and was divided by the king into 
two separate states, known respectively as North and South Carolina, to 
each of which a royal governor was appointed. 




CHAPTER XIX. 

SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA. 

General James Edward Oglethorpe — His Efforts to Reform Prison Discipline of England 
— Proposes to Found a Colony in America for the Poor and for Prisoners for Debt — A 
Charter Obtained from the King — Colonization of Georgia — Savannah Settled — First 
Years of the Colony — Labors of Oglethorpe — Arrival of New Emigrants — Augusta 
Founded — The Moravian Settlements — The Wealeys in America — George "Whitefield — 
AVar between England and Spain — Oglethorpe Invades Florida — Failure of the Attack 
upon St. Augustine — The Spaniards Invade Georgia — Oglethorpe's Stratagem — Its Suc- 
cess — Battle of " Bloody Marsh " — Close of the War — Charges against Oglethorpe — His 
Vindication — His Return to Europe — Changes in the Colonial Government — Introduc- 
tion of Slavery into Georgia — Prosperity of the Colony. 

HE severe laws in force in England in the last century against 
debtors aroused the opposition of many philanthropists, who 
strove to procure their abolition or amelioration. Among these 
'3 was General James Edward Oglethorpe, an officer of the English 
army and a member of Parliament. He was a man of fortune, 
and of generous nature, and devoted himself with energy to reform not 
only the laws against debtors but the entire prison discipline of England. 
There were at this time upwards of four thousand men in prison for 
debt. Their condition was most pitiful. They had no hope of relief 
save through the mercy of the creditors who had consigned them to their 
prisons, and were treated with a severity due only to criminals. It 
seemed an outrage to the generous Oglethorpe to visit such heavy punish- 
ments upon persons whose only crimes were their misfortunes, and he 
endeavored to have the laws authorizing imprisonment for debt repealed, 
and failing in this conceived the plan of establishing in America a place 
of refuge to M'hich the poor and unfortunate might resort, and earn a 
support by their own industry. He succeeded in interesting others in his 
benevolent scheme, and in 1732 a petition, signed by a number of men 
of rank and influence, was presented to George II., praying him to grant 
to the petitioners a tract of unoccupied land in America for the purpose 
of founding such an asylum as that proposed by Oglethorpe. The king 
responded favorably to this appeal, and granted to Oglethorpe and 
twenty other persons the region between the Savannah and the Altamaha 
286 



SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA. 287 

rivere. This region was to be held " in trust for the poor," for a period 
of twenty-one years, by the trustees named in the charter, and was to 
constitute a home for unfortunate debtors and Protestants from the conti- 
nent of Europe, who might wish to seek safety there from persecution. 
The territory thus assigned formed a part of South Carolina, but was 
formally separated from it and named Georgia in honor of the king. 
The " free exercise of religion " was secured to all sects " except Papists." 
No grant of land to any single settler was to exceed five hundred acres, 
a condition which it was hoped would prevent the rich from securing the 
best lands, and give to the poor an opportunity to become landowners. 
It was believed that the climate and soil of the new province were speci- 
ally adapted to the raising of silk-worms and the cultivation of the vine. 
The scheme of Oglethorpe enlisted the sympathies of all classes of the 
English people. Liberal donations were made in its behalf, and its 
benevolent projector exerted himself with energy to secure a colony with 
which to lay the foundations of the new state. It was determined to 
take none but the poorest and most 
helpless, and Oglethorpe himself 
decided to accompany them, and 
give his personal care to the plant- 
ing of the colony. One hundred 
and fifty persons, comprising thirty- 
five families, were embarked, and 
they sailed from England in No- 
vember, 1732. They reached Charleston in fifty-seven days, and were 
formally welcomed by the assembly of South Carolina and presented with 
a supj)ly of cattle and rice. From Charleston the company sailed to 
Port Royal, while Oglethorpe hastened to explore the Savannah and 
select a site for the settlement. He chose a location at Yamacraw 
Bluff, on the right bank of the river, about twenty miles from its mouth. 
He purchased the land from the Yamacraw Indians, and the foundations 
of a town were laid. The place was named Savannah from the river on 
which it stood. Oglethorpe hastened forward the clearing of the land 
and the building of houses, but for nearly a year contented himself with 
a tent which was erected under four wide-spreading pines. " The streets 
were laid out with the greatest regularity; in each quarter a public 
square was reserved ; the houses were planned and constructed on one 
model — each a frame of sawed timber, twenty-four feet by sixteen, 
floored with rough deals, the sides with feather-edged boards, unplaned, 
and the roof shingled." A garden was laid off by the river-side, to be 
the nursery of European fruits and other productions. 




COAT OF ARMS OF GEORGIA. 



288 BISTORT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Friendly relations were cultivated with the Indians. The chief of the 
Yamacraws came in bringing a buffalo skin, on the inner side of which 
was painted the head and feathers of an eagle. " Here is a little present," 
said Tomo-chichi, as the chief was named. " The feathers of the eagle 
are soft, and signify love ; the buffalo skin is warm, and is the emblem 
fof protection ; therefore love and protect our little families." The Mus- 
cogees. Creeks, Cherokees, and Oconees also sent their chiefs to Savannah 
to make an alliance with the English. The savages were well pleased 
with the noble and commanding appearance of Oglethorpe and his frank 
and kind manner of dealing with them, and trusted implicitly in the 
promises he made them. The distant Choctaws also sent messengers to 
open friendly relations with the new settlers, and a profitable trade was 
established with the tribes as far west as the Mississippi. 

Thus far the colony of Georgia was a success, and the friends of the 
movement in England were not slow to make 
public the accounts which came to them of its 
delightful climate and fertile soil, and all who 
were oppressed or in need were invited to seek 
the protection and advantages which the new 
land offered. The fame of the colony attracted 
the attention of a number of German Protes- 
tants in and around Salzburg, who were under- 
going a severe persecution for the sake of their 
religion. Their sufferings enlisted the 'sympa- 
^■% 'I ^^i.^ t'^y of the people of England, and the " Society 

OGLETHORPE. ^^^^ ^^^ Propagation of the Gospel" invited 

them to emigrate to Georgia, and secured for 
them the means of doing so. The Germans readily accepted the offer, 
and rejoiced greatly that they were thus afforded an opportunity of 
spreading the gospel among the Indians. Nearly one hundred persons 
set out from Salzburg, taking with them their wives and little ones in 
wagons, and journeyed across the country to Frankfort-on-the-Main. 
They carried with them their Bibles and books of devotion, and as they 
journeyed lightened their fatigues with those grand old German hymns 
which they were to make as precious in the new world as they were to 
the people of God in the old. From Frankfort they proceeded to the 
Rhine and floated down that stream to Rotterdam, where being joined by 
two clergymen — Bolzius and Gronau — they sailed to England. They 
M'cre warmly received by a committee of the trustees of the colony and 
forwarded to Georgia. 

A stormy passage of fifty-seven days brought them to Charleston, in 




290 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

March, 1 734, where they Avere met by Oglethorpe, who led them to their 
destination. They were assigned a location on the Savannah, a short 
distance above the town of Savannah, where they began without delay to 
lay off' a town which they named Ebenezer, in gratitude to God for his 
guidance of them into a land of plenty and of rest from persecution. 
Others of their countrymen joined them from time to time, and their 
settlement grew rapidly, and became noted as one of the most orderly, 
thrifty, and moral communities in the new world. 

In 1734 the town of Auo;usta was laid out at the head of boat navig-a- 
tion on the Savannah, and soon became an important trading-post. 
Emigrants came over from England in large numbers, and Oglethorpe 
had the satisfaction of seeing his colony fairly started upon the road to 
prosperity. He was justly proud of the success of the colony, for it was 
mainly due to his disinterested efforts. Governor Johnson of South 
Carolina, who had watched the labors of Oglethorpe with the deepest 
interest, wrote : "His undertaking will succeed, for he nobly devotes all 
his powers to serve the poor and rescue them from their wretchedness." 
The pastor of Ebenezer bore equally emphatic testimony to his devotion. 
" He has taken care of us to the best of his ability," said the pastor. 
'■ God has so blessed his presence and his regulations in the land, that 
others would not in many years have accomplished what he has brought 
about in one." 

In April, 1 734, Oglethorpe, whose presence was required in Europe, 
sailed from Savannah, taking with him several Indians, and enough of 
the raw silk which had been produced in the colony to make a dress for 
the queen. Georgia was left to manage its own affairs during the absence 
of the founder. As the colonists regarded the use of ardent spirits as the 
sure cause of the debt and misery from which they had fled, they prohib- 
ited their introduction into the colony ; but it was found impossible to 
enforce this law. The importation of negro slaves was also forbidden. 
The colony was a refuge for the distressed and oppressed of all nations, 
and it seemed a violation of the spirit in which it was founded to hold 
men in bondage, " Slavery," said Oglethorpe, " is against the gospel as 
well as the fundamental law of England. AVe refused, as trustees, to 
make a law permitting such a horrid crime." 

The visit of Oglethorpe to England was productive of great benefit to 
Georgia. Parliament was induced to grant it assistance, and the king 
became deeply interested in the province which had been called by his 
name. Emigrants from England continued to seek its hospitable shores, 
and the trustees induced a band of Moravians, or United Brethren, to 
emigrate to the colony. They came in 1735, with the intention of 



SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA. 291 

becoming missionaries of the gospel among the savage tribes, and under 
their leader Spangenberg, formed a new settlement on the Ogeechee, south 
of the Savannah. They claimed and received a grant of fifty acres of 
land for each of their number, in accordance with a law which had been 
passed for the encouragement of emigration. In the same year a com- 
pany of Scotch Highlanders, under their minister, John McLeod, arrived, 
and founded the town of Darien, on the Altamaha. In 1736 Oglethorpe 
himself returned, bringing with him three hundred emigrants. 

Among the new-comers were two brothers, men of eminent piety, who 
were destined to exercise a powerful influence upon the world. They 
were John and Charles Wesley, sons of a clergyman of the Church of 
England, and themselves ministers of that communion. Charles Wesley 
had been selected by Oglethorpe as his secretary, and John Wesley came 
with the hope of becoming the means of converting the Indians to 
Christianity. He did not succeed in realizing his noble ambition, but we 
cannot doubt that his experience in America formed a very important 
part of the training by which God was preparing him for the great work 
he meant to intrust to him at a later day. The preaching of Wesley had 
a marked effect upon the colony. , Crowds flocked to hear him, neglecting 
their usual amusements in their eagerness to listen to him. His austerity 
of life, however, involved him in troubles with the people, and his popu- 
larity at length disappeared. His brother Charles was too tenderly 
moulded for so rough a life as that of the infant colony, and his health 
sank under it. The brothers remained in Georgia only two years, and 
then went back to Europe, never to return to America. 

Soon after the departure of the Wesleys came to the colony George 
Whitefield, their friend and associate, the "golden-mouthed" preacher 
of the century. In his own land he had begun to preach the message of 
his Master when but a mere youth, and had proclaimed it to the inmates 
of the prisons and to the poor in the fields, and now he had come to 
bring the gospel to the people of the new world. He visited the 
Lutherans at Ebenezer, and was deeply impressed with the care with 
which they protected the orphan and helpless children of their com- 
munity. He determined to establish an institution similar to the orphan 
house at Halle in Germany, and by his personal exertions succeeded in 
raising in England and America the funds necessary for the success of 
his enterprise. He thereupon established near Savannah the first orphan 
asylum in America. He watched it with unceasing care during his life, 
but after his death it languished and was at length discontinued. White- 
field did not confine his labors to Georgia. He visited every colony in 
America, and finally died and was burled in New England. The memory 



292 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of his wonderful eloquence is still retained in this country by the children 
of those who listened to him. 

Immediately upon his return to Georgia, Oglethorpe proceeded to visit 
the Lutheran settlement at Ebenezer, to encourage the people and lay out 
their town. Tlie Germans repaid his care by their industry, and in a 
few years their total annual product of raw silk amounted to ten thousand 
pounds. The culture of indigo was also carried on by them with marked 
success. 

Oglethorpe, having visited the Scotch settlement at Darien, now 
resolved to come to a definite understanding with the Spaniards at St. 
Augustine respecting the southern border of Georgia, and to sustain the 
pretensions of Great Britain to the country as far south as the St. John's. 
Proceeding with a detachment of Highlanders to Cumberland island, he 
marked out the location for a fort, to be called St. Andrew's, and on the 
southern end of Amelia island, at the mouth of the St. John's, built Fort 
St. George. The Spaniards on their part claimed the whole coast as far 
north as St. Helena's sound, and Oglethorpe, a little later, decided to 
abandon Fort St. George, but strengthened Fort St. Andrew, as it 
defended the entrance to the St. Mary's, which stream was finally settled 
upon as the boundary between Georgia and Florida. Oglethorpe was 
commissioned a brigadier-general by the king, and was charged with the 
defence of Georgia and South Carolina. He repaired to England and 
raised a regiment of troops, Avith which he returned to Georgia in 1738. 

Spain and England were rapidly drifting into war. The system of 
restrictions by which the European governments sought to retain the 
exclusive possession of the commerce of their respective colonies was 
always a fruitful source of trouble. It now operated to bring England 
and Spain to open hostilities. The Spanish colonies were forbidden by 
law to trade with any jiort but that of Cadiz. The merchants of this 
place, being given a monopoly of the colonial commerce, were enabled to 
fix their prices without fear of competition, and thus earned large 
fortunes. The trade of the Spanish-American colonies, however, was too 
tempting not to produce rivals to the merchants of Cadiz. The English, 
who had watched its growth with eager eyes, determined to gain a share 
of it. By the terms of a treaty between the two nations, an English 
vessel was allowed to visit Porto bello, in the West Indies, once a year, 
and dispose of its cargo. This vessel was followed by smaller ones, 
which in the night rephiced with their cargoes the bales of goods that 
had been discharged during the day. An active smuggling trade sprang 
up between the English and Spanish -American ports, and English vessels 
repeatedly sought these ports, imder the pretence of distress, and sold 



SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA. 



293 



tlicir goods. These enterprises were carried to such an extent that the 
Spanish merchants were unable to compete with the English smugglers 
in the colonial markets, and the tonnage of the port of Cadiz fell from 
fifteen thousand to two thousand tons. The Spaniards visited with severe 
punishments all who were detected in engaging in this illicit traffic. 
Some of the oifenders were imprisoned, and others were deprived of their 




GATHERING SUGAB-CANE. 



ears. 



The English people resented the punishment of these traders as 
an infringement of the freedom of trade, and regarded the smugglers who 
had suffered at the hands of Spanish justice as martyrs. The popular 
sentiment was therefore in favor of a war with Spain, and the English 
government, which had all along connived at this illicit trade, which \vas 
rapidly crippling a rival power, shared the national feeling. 

The English colonists, who had watched the growth of the trouble 



294 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

between the two European countries, had grievances of their own. South 
Carolina was a sufferer by the loss of numerous runaway negro slaves, 
who escaped to the Spaniards at St. Augustine. The return of these 
fugitives was demanded, and was refused, not because the Spaniards were 
opposed to slavery, but because they were always ready to injure the 
English colonies by any means in their power. Moreover, the Spanish 
authorities of Florida had ordered the English to withdraw from 
Georgia, and it was not certain that they would refrain from seeking to 
enforce this order. Oglethorpe had become convinced that war was in- 
evitable, and in order to be prepared for it had visited Europe and raised 
a regiment of six hundred men, as has been related. 

"War was declared against Spain by England in October, 1739. 
Admiral Vernon was sent against Portobello with his fleet, and captured 
that town and its fortifications, and gained some other successes over the 
Sjianiards in Central America. In 1740 the American colonies were 
ordered by the British government to contribute each its quota to a grand 
expedition against the Spanish possessions in the West Indies. Each 
colony made its contribution promptly, and Pennsylvania, in the place 
of troops, voted a sum of money. The expedition reached Jamaica in 
January, 1741, but instead of proceeding at once to attack Havana, 
which was only three days distant, and the conquest of which would 
have made England supreme in the West Indies, the fleet was detained 
for over a month at Jamaica by the dissensions between Wentworth, the 
incompetent commander of the laud forces, and Vernon, the admiral of 
the fleet. The expedition numbered over one hundred vessels, of which 
twenty -nine were ships of the line, and was manned with fifteen thousand 
sailors and twelve thousand troops, and supplied with every requisite for 
a successful siege. Havana might have been taken, and England have 
gained a hold upon the southern waters of America which could never 
have been wrested from her. Instead of undertaking this important 
measure, the expedition attacked Carthagena, the strongest fortress in 
Spanish America. The Spaniards defended it with obstinacy and held 
the English in check until the besieging force, decimated by the ravages 
of the climate, was conqjolled to withdraw. The Avar continued through 
the next year, but England gained no advantage in the West Indies 
which could at all compensate her for her losses in the struggle. 

In the autumn of 1739, upon the breaking out of the war, Oglethorpe 
was ordered to invade Florida and attack St. Augustine. He hastened 
to Charleston and urged upon the authorities of South Carolina, which 
formed a part of his military command, the necessity of acting with 
promptness and decision. He was granted supplies and a force of four 



SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA. 295 

hundred men, which, added to his own regiment, gave him a force of one 
thousand white troops. He was also furuislied with a body of Indian 
warriors by the friendly tribes, and with his little army invaded Florida 
in the spring of 1741, and laid siege to St. Augustine. He found the 
garrison more numerous and the fortifications stronger than he had been 
led to believe. The Indians soon became disheartened and began to 
desert, and the troops from South Carolina, " enfeebled by the heat, dis- 
pirited by sickness and fatigued by fruitless efforts, marched away in 
lar<^e bodies." The small naval force also became dissatisfied, and Ogle- 
thorpe, left with only his own regiment, was obliged to withdraw into 
Georgia after a siege of five weeks. During this campaign Oglethorpe 
made a few prisoners, whom he treated with kindness. He prevented 
the Indians from maltreating the Spanish settlers, and, throughout the 
invasion, " endured more fatigues than any of his soldiers ; and in spite 
of ill health, consequent on exposure to perpetual damjDS, he was always 
at the head in every important action." 

The invasion of Florida was a misfortune for Georgia in every way. 
Not only were some of the inhabitants lost to the colony by death, and 
the industry of the province greatly interfered with by the calling off of 
the troops from their ordinary avocations, but a serious misfortune was 
sustained in the withdrawal of the Moravians from the province. Un- 
compromisingly opposed to war they withdrew from Georgia in a body, 
and settled in Pennsylvania, where they founded the towns of Bethlehem 
and Nazareth. 

In the last year of the war, 1742, the Spaniards resolved to avenge the 
attack upon Florida by driving the English out of Georgia. A strong 
fleet with a considerable land force was sent from Cuba to St. Augustine, 
from which it proceeded to the mouth of the St. Mary's. Oglethorpe 
had constructed a strong work called Fort William, on the southern end 
of Cumberland island, for the defence of this river. AVith no aid from 
Carolina, and with less than a thousand men, Oglethorpe was left to de- 
fend this position as well as he could. He posted his main force at 
Frederica, a small village on St. Simon's island. The Spanish fleet 
attacked Fort William in June, and succeeded in passing it and entering 
the harbor of St. Simon's. The troops were landed, and arrangements 
were made for a combined attack upon Frederica. 

Oglethorpe now resolved to anticipate the attack of the enemy by a 
night assault upon their position, but as his forces were approaching the 
Spanish camp, under cover of darkness, one of his soldiers, a French- 
man, betrayed the movement by firing his gun, and escaping into the 
enemy's lines, where he gave the alarm. Oglethorpe by a happy strata- 



296 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

gem now induced the enemy to withdraw, and drew upon the deserter the 
punishment he merited. He bribed a Spanish prisoner to carry a letter 
to tlie deserter, in which he addressed the Frenchman as a spy of the 
English, and urged him to use every effort to detain the Spaniards before 
Frederica for several days longer, until a fleet of six English ships of 
war, which had sailed from Charleston, could reach and destroy St. 
Augustine. The letter was delivered by the released prisoner to the 
Spanish commander, as Oglethorpe had known would be the case, and 
the deserter was placed in confinement. Fortunately, at this moment, 
some vessels from South Carolina, laden with supplies for Oglethorpe, 
appeared in the offing. These the Spanish commander was confident 
were the ships on their way to attack St. Augustine. He determined to 
strike a vigorous blow at Frederica before sailing to the relief of his 
countrymen in Florida. On his march towards the English position he 
was ambuscaded and defeated, with great loss, at a place since called 
" Bloody Marsh." The next night he embarked his forces, and sailed 
for St. Augustine to defend it from the attack which had no existence 
save in the fertile brain of Oglethorpe, whose stratagem was thus entirely 
successful. On their withdrawal the Spaniards renewed their attempt to 
capture Fort William, but without success. The firmness and vigor of 
Oglethorpe had saved Georgia and Carolina from the ruin Avhich the 
Spaniards, who had no intention of occupying the country, had designed 
for them. 

Yet the founder and brave defender of Georgia Avas not to escape the 
experience of those who seek with disinterested zeal to serve their fellow- 
men. The disaffected settlers sent an agent to England to lodge com- 
plaints against him with the government. In July, 1743, having made 
sure of the tranquillity and safety of the colony, Oglethorpe sailed for 
England to meet his accuser, and upon arriving in his native country de- 
manded an investigation of his conduct in the land for which he had 
sacrificed so much. The result of the inquiry was the triumphant 
acquittal of Oglethorpe, and the punishment of his accuser for making 
false charges. Oglethorpe was promoted to the grade of major-general 
in the English army. He did not return to Georgia again, but he had 
the satisfaction of knowing that during his ten years of sacrifice and toil 
in America he had successfully laid the foundations of a vigorous state, 
and had placed it far beyond the possibility of failure, and that his name 
was honored and loved by the people for whom he had given his best 
efforts without any personal reward. He died at the age of ninety years. 
After the departure of Oglethorpe many improvements were made in the 
government of Georgia, which was changed from a military rule to a 



SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA. 297 

civil establishment. The forms and customs of the English law were 
introduced, and the usual magistrates appointed. 

Slavery had been forbidden by the trustees, but the majority of the 
people were dissatisfied with this prohibition. The Germans and the 
Scotch were opposed to the introduction of slave labor, but the greater 
number of the English, many of whom had been reduced to poverty by 
their idleness and wastefulness, were of the opinion that the agricultural 
wealth of the colony could not be properly developed by white labor 
alone. "They were unwilling to labor, but were clamorous for privileges 
to which they had no right." They declared that the use of strong 
liquors was rendered absolutely necessary by the climate, and demanded 
the repeal of the laws against their introduction. Negro slaves Avere 
hired from the Carolina planters at first for a few years, and finally for a 
term of one hundred years, which was a practical establishment of sla- 
very in the colony. Within seven years after Oglethorpe's departure 
slave-ships from Africa brought their cargoes direct to Savannah, and 
sold them there. The scruples of the Germans were at length overcome, 
and they were induced to believe that negroes might be led into the 
Christian fold by their proper treatment by Christian masters, and that 
in this way their change of country might result in benefit to them. " If 
you take slaves in faith," wrote their friends from Germany, " and with 
the intent of conducting them to Christ, the action will not be a sin, but 
may prove a benediction." Even the pious Whitefield took this view of 
the subject, and urged the trustees to grant permission to the colonists to 
hold slaves, as indispensable to the prosperity of Georgia. 

The trustees were so strongly urged to this step by all classes of the 
colony, and so overrun with complaints, that the twenty-one years of 
their guardianship having expired, they were glad to surrender their 
trust, which they did in 1752, and Georgia became a royal province. 
Privileges similar to those granted the other colonies were allowed it. 
The king appointed the governor and some of the other higher officials, 
and the assembly discharged the duties, and enjoyed the rights appertain- 
ing to similar bodies in the other provinces. Georgia was always a favored 
colony. Among the most important privileges bestowed upon it was the 
right to import and hold negro slaves, which was conferred upon it by 
Parliament after a careful examination into the matter. After this the 
colony grew rapidly, and cotton and rice were largely cultivated. In 
1752, at the time of the relinquishment of the colony to the crown, Geor- 
gia contained a population less than 2500 whites, and about 400 negroes. 
In 1775, at the outbreak of the Revolution, the population numbered 
about 75,000 souls, and its exports were valued at over half a million of 
dollars. 




CHAPTER XX. 

THE FRENCH IN THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

Origin of the Hostility of the Iroquois to the French — Settlement of Canada — Plans of 
the French respecting the Indians — The Jesuits — Their Work in America — Success of 
their Missions — The Early Missionaries — Foundation of a College at Quebec — Eflbrts 
of the Jesuits to Convert the Iroquois — Father Jogues — Death of Ahasistari — Father 
Alloiiez — The Missions on the L'pper Lakes — Father Marquette — His Exploration of 
the Upper Mississippi — Death of Marquette — La Salle — Efforts of France to secure the 
Valley of the Mississippi — La Salle Descends the Mississippi to its Mouth — His Effort 
to Colonize the Lower Mississippi — The First Colony in Texas — Its Failure — Death of 
La Salle — Lemoine d'Ibberville — Settlement of Louisiana — Colony of Biloxi — Settle- 
ment of Mobile — Crozat's Monopoly — Founding of New Orleans — Detroit Founded — 
Slow Growth of the French Colonies — Occupation of the Ohio Valley by the French — 
"Wars with the Indians — Extermination of the Natchez Tribe — "War with the Chickasaws. 

(pT|1k|||E have already spoken of the explorations of Samuel Champlaiu 
in Canada and in the northern jjart of New York. It is neces- 
sary now, in order to obtain a proper comprehension of the 
period at which we have arrived, to go back to the time of his 
discoveries and trace the efforts of France to extend her domin- 
ion over the great valley of the Mississippi. We have seen Champlain 
in one of his last expeditions accompanying a war party of the Hurons 
and Algonquins against their inveterate enemies, the Iroquois, or Five 
Nations. By his aid the former were enabled to defeat the Iroquois, and 
that great confederacy thus became the bitter and uncompromising 
enemies of the French nation. They cherished this hostility to the latest 
period of the dominion of France in Canada, and no eifort of the French 
governors was ever able to overcome it. 

The efforts of Champlain established the settlement of Canada upon a 
sure basis of success, and after his death settlers came over to Canada 
from France in considerable numbers. Quebec became an important 
place, and other settlements were founded. It was apparent from the 
first that the French colonies must occupy a very different footing from 
those of England. The soil and the climate were both unfavorable to 
agriculture, and the French settlements were of necessity organized 
chiefly as trading-posts. The trade in furs was immensely valuable, and 
the French sought to secure the exclusive possession of it. To this end 
298 




299 



300 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

it was indispensable to secure the friendship of the Indians, especially of 
those tribes inhabiting the country to the north and west of the great 
lakes. 

In 1634, three years before the death of Champlain, Louis XIII. 
granted a charter to a company of French nobles and merchants, bestowing 
upon them the entire region embraced in the valley of the St. Lawrence, 
then known as New France. Richelieu and Champlain, who were mem- 
bers of this company, were wise enough to understand that their country- 
men were not suited to the task of colonization, and that if France was 
to found an empire in the new world, it must be by civilizing and Chris- 
tianizing the Indians, and bringing them under the rule of her king, and 
not by seeking to people Canada with Frenchmen. From this time it 
became the policy of France to bring the savages under her sway. The 
efforts of the settlers in Canada were mainly devoted to trading with the 
Indians, and no attempt was made to found an agricultural state. 

Champlain had conceived a sincere desire for the conversion of the 
savages to Christianity, and had employed several priests of the order of 
St. Francis as his companions, and these had gained sufficient success 
among the savages to give ground for the hope that the red men might 
yet be brought into the fold of Christ. Father Le Caron, one of this 
order, had penetrated far up the St. Lawrence, had exj)lored the southern 
coast of Lake Ontario, and had even entered Lake Huron. He brought 
back tidings of thousands of the sons of the forest living in darkness and 
superstition, ignorant of the gospel, and dying " in the bondage of their 
sins." In France a sudden enthusiasm was awakened in behalf of the 
savages, and at court zeal for the conversion of the Indians became the 
sure road to distinction. Much of this was the result of genuine dis- 
interested regard for the welfare of the red men, but much also was due 
to the conviction that by such a course the power of France would be 
most surely established in Canada. 

The missions were placed entirely in the hands of the Jesuits, an order 
well suited to the task demanded of it. It had been established by its 
founder for the express design of defeating the influences and the work 
of the Reformation, and its members were chosen with especial regard to 
their fitness for the duties required of them. They were to meet and 
refute the arguments by which the Reformers justified their withdrawal 
from the Roman Church, to beat back the advancing wave of Protes- 
tantism, and bring all Christendom once more in humble submission to 
the feet of the Roman pontiff. The Reformers had made a most success- 
ful use of education in winning men from Rome ; the Jesuits would take 
their own weajjons against the Protestants. They would no longer com- 



VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI 301 

mand absolute and unquestioning submission to their church ; but would 
educate the jjeople to accept the faith of Rome as the result of study and 
investigation ; and in order that study and investigation should lead to 
this desired result, the control of these processes should be placed exclu- 
sively in the hands of the members of the Jesuit order, who should direct 
them as they deemed best. Such a task required a band of devoted men, 
carefully trained for their special work ; and such an order the Jesuits 
became. Surrendering his conscience and will to the direction of his 
superiors, and sinking his personality in that of his order, the Jesuit 
became a mere intellectual machine in the hands of his superior. Bound 
by a most solemn oath to obey without inquiry or hesitation the com- 
mands of the Pope, or the superiors of the order, the Jesuit holds him- 
self in readiness to execute instantly, and to the best of his ability, any 
task imposed upon him. Neither fatigue, danger, hunger, nor suffering, 
was to stand in his way of perfect and unhesitating obedience. No dis- 
tance was to be considered an obstacle, and no lack of ordinary facilities 
of travel was to prevent him from attempting to reach the fields in w^hich 
he was ordered to labor. The merit of obedience in his eyes atoned for 
every other short-coming ; devotion to the church, the glory of making 
proselytes, made even suffering pleasure and death a triumph, if met in 
the discharge of duty. Such an order was in every way qualified for the 
work of Christianizing the savages, and America offered the noblest field 
to which its energies had yet been invited. There, cut off from the am- 
bitious schemes and corrupt influences which had enlisted their powers in 
Europe, the Jesuits could achieve, and did achieve their noblest and most 
useful triumphs. There, their influence was for good alone, and their 
labors stand in striking contrast with those which won for the order the 
universal execration of Europe. Not only did they win the honor of 
gaining many converts to the Christian faith, but they were the means 
of extending the dominion of their country far beyond the boundaries of 
Canada, and of bringing the great valley of the Mississippi under the 
authority of France. 

By the year 1536 there were thirteen Jesuit missionaries in Canada 
laboring among the Indians. Not content with remaining around the 
posts, they pushed out beyond the frontier settlements into the boundless 
forest, making new converts and important discoveries. Each convert 
was regarded as a subject of France and the equal of the whites, and the 
kindliest relations were established between the French and the natives. 
Many of the traders took them Indian wives, and from these marriages 
sprang the class of half-breeds afterwards so numerous in Canada. 

The limits of Canada were too narrow for the ambition of the Jesuits ; 



302 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



they burned to carry Christianity to the tribes in the more distant regions 
beyond the lakes. In the autumn of 163-4 Fathers Brabeuf and Daniel 
accompanied a party of Hurons, who had come to Quebec on a trading 
expedition, to their home on the shores of the lake which bears their 
name. It was a long and difficult journey of nine hundred miles, and it 
taxed the endurance of the missionaries to the utmost, but they per- 
severed, and finally gained a resting-place at the Huron villages on 
Georgian bay and Lake Simcoe. There they erected a rude chapel in a 
little grove, and celebrated the mysteries of their religion in the midst of 
the wondering red men, \vho looked on with awe and not -without 
interest. Six missions were soon established among the Indian villages 
in this part of the lake, and converts began to reward the labors of the 




DULUTH, AT THE HEAD OF LAKE 8UPEKI0R. 

devoted priests. Father Brabeuf had not an idle moment. The first 
four hours of the day were passed in prayer and in the flagellation of his 
body ; he wore a shirt of hair, and his fiists were frequent and severe. 
The remainder of the day was given to catechizing and teaching the 
Indians. As he passed along the streets of the village he would ring his 
little bell, and in this way summon the warrior's to converse with him 
upon the mysteries of the Christian faith. He spent fifteen years in his 
labors among the Indians, and hundreds of converts were by means of 
him gained to Christ among the dusky children of the forest. 

The great Huron chief, Ahasistari, was among the converts of Father 
Brabeuf. " Before you came to this country," he said to the missionary, 
" when I have incurred the greatest perils and have alone escaped, I have 



VALLEY OF THE MISSTSSIPPL 303 

said to myself, ' Some powerful Spirit has the guardianship of my days.' " 
That Spirit he now declared was Jesus Christ, and as he had before 
adored him in ignorance, he now became his acknowledged servant. 
Being satisfied of his sincerity, Father Brabeuf baptized him, and the 
chief, in the enthusiasm of his new belief, exclaimed, " Let us strive to 
make the whole world embrace the faith in Jesus." 

The report of the successful efforts of the missionaries gave great satis- 
faction in France, and the king and queen and the nobles made liberal 
donations in support of the missions and for the assistance of the con- 
verts. A college for the education of missionaries was founded at 
Quebec in 1635. This was the first institution of learning established in 
America, and preceded the founding of Harvard College by two years. 
Madame de la Peltrie, a wealthy young widow of Alen9on, with the aid 
of three nuns, established in 1639 the Ursuline Convent for the edu- 
cation of Indian girls. The three nuns came out from France to 
take charge of it, and were received with enthusiasm, especially 
by the Indians. Montreal being regarded as a more suitable place, the 
institution was removed to that island and permanently established there. 

The labors of the missionaries had thus far been confined to the Huron 
and Algonquin tribes, whom they found very willing to listen to them, 
and among whom they counted their converts by thousands. They had 
encountered but little hostility from them, and the dangers of the enter- 
prise were merely those inseparable from the unsettled condition of 
the country. They were anxious to extend their efforts to the fiercer and 
more powerful Iroquois, as the conversion of the tribes of this confederacy 
would not only swell the number of their converts, but would extend the 
influence of France to the very borders of the English settlements on the 
Atlantic coast. 

The Iroquois, or Five Nations, consisted, as has been said, of the 
Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk tribes. They occupied 
almost all that part of Canada south of the Ottawa, and between Lakes 
Ontario, Erie and Huron, the greater part of New York and the country 
lying along the south shore of Lake Erie, now included in the States 
of Ohio and Pennsylvania. They were generally called by the 
English the Mohawks. They were the most intelligent, as well as the 
most powerful, of the tribes with whom the French missionaries came in 
contact. Their traditions related that their confederacy had been formed 
in accordance with the instructions of Hiawatha, the greatest and wisest 
of their chiefs, who had been blessed by the Great Spirit with more than 
human beauty and wisdom and courage. He had made his people great, 
united and prosperous ; had then taken a solemn leave of them, and had 



304 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



sailed out into the distant sunset in a snow-white canoe amid the sweetest 
music from the spirit land. They were regarded with dread by the sur- 
rounding tribes, many of which were tributary to them. Their influence 
extended eastward as far as New England, and westward as far as the 
countries of the Illinois and the Miamis. They regarded the Hurons as 
their hereditary enemies, and the French, as the allies of the Hurons, 
now shared this hostility. The savages long remembered, and never 
forgave, the alliance of Champlain with the Hurons and Algonquius, to 
which reference has been made. 

The Jesuit missionaries vainly endeavored to add the tribes of the 
Five Nations to their converts. The latter, regarding the French as 
enemies, could never be made to look upon the missionaries of that race 
as friends, and considered the efforts of the good fathers in their behalf 







DUBUQUE, IOWA. 

as a species of incantation designed for their destruction. They closed 
the region south of Lake Ontario to the French traders and priests, and 
kept a vigilant watch over the passes of the St. Lawrence for the purpose 
of breaking up the trade of the French at Montreal with the tribes on 
tlie lakes. The only route by which the lakes could be reached in safety 
was by the Ottawa and through the wilderness beyond. Yet occasionally 
a trading party would slip through the blockade established by the 
Iroquois, and, descending the lakes and the St. Lawrence, reach Montreal 
and Quebec in safety. These expeditions constituted the only means by 
which the Jesuit missionaries in the remote regions could communicate 
■with their principal establishment at Montreal. 



VALLEY OF THE 3IISSISSIPPL 305 

In the summer of 1642 Father Jogues, who had labored with great 
success in the country now embraced in the State of Michigan, left the 
Sault Sainte Marie under the escort of the great Huron war chief Ahasis- 
tari and a number of his braves, and, descending the Ottawa and the St. 
Lawrence, reached Montreal and Quebec in safety. On the 1st of 
August he set out on his return, accompanied by a larger fleet of Huron 
canoes. Before the mouth of the Ottawa was reached the party was 
attacked by a baind of IMohawks, and the canoes were so much damaged 
that the occupants were forced to make for the opposite shore. The 
greater number escaped, but a few, among whom were Father Jogues 
and Father Goupil, a fellow-priest, were taken prisoners. Ahasistari 
had succeeded in reaching a place of safety, and from his concealment 
saw the missionaries prisoners in the hands of their enemies. He knew 
the fate that awaited them, and resolved to share it with them. Father 
Jogues might have escaped, but as there were among the prisoners several 
converts who had not yet received baptism, he decided to remain with 
them in the hope of being able to administer the sacred rite to them 
before their execution. Ahasistari strode through the midst of the 
astonished Mohawks to the side of the priest. " My brother," said the 
chief, " I made oath to thee that I would share thy fortune, whether 
death or life ; here am I to keep my vow." He received absolution from 
the hands of his teacher, and died at the stake with the firmness of a 
Christian and a hero. Jogues and Goupil were carried to the Mohawk, 
and in each village through which they were led Avere compelled to run 
the gauntlet. On an ear of corn which was thrown to them for food a 
few drops of the dew had remained, and with these Father Jogues bap- 
tized two of his converts. Goupil was not so fortunate. He was seen in 
the act of making the sign of the cross over an Indian child, and was 
struck dead by a blow from the tomahawk of the child's father, who 
supposed he was working a spell for the little one's harm. Father Jogues 
had expected the same fate, but he was spared, and even allowed to erect 
a large cross near the village at which he was detained, and to worship 
before it at pleasure. He escaped at length and reached Albany, where 
he was kindly received by the Dutch, who enabled him to return to 
France, from which country he sailed again for Canada. He went boldly 
into the Mohawk country and began again the efforts which he had made 
during his captivity to convert his enemies to the true faith, but his 
labors were soon cut short by his murder by a Mohawk warrior. Other 
missionaries sought the country of these tribes, but only to meet torture 
and death at their hands. 

In 1645 the French, who desired to secure their possessions, made a 
20 



306 HISTORY OF TEE UNITED STATES. 

treaty of peace with the Five Nations. The latter professed to forget 
and bury the wrongs of the past, and agreed to be the true friends of the 
French. The Algonquins joined in the peace, but neither tribe was 
sincere in its professions of friendship. 

The Abenakis of Maine, who had heard of the good deeds of the 
Jesuit fathers, sent messengers to Montreal asking that missionaries might 
be sent to dwell among them. Their appeal was favorably considered, 
and Father Dreuilettcs made his way across the wilderness to the head 
of the Kennebec, and descended that stream to a point within a few miles 
of its mouth, where he established his mission. Large numbers of the 
savages came to him for religious instruction, and he found them ready 
to embrace the truths he taught them. He entered heartily into all the 
modes of Indian life, hunting and fishing with them, and winning their 
confidence and affection. After remaining with them about a year he 
returned to Quebec, escorted by a band of his converts. He gave such 
favorable accounts of the disposition of the Maine Indians that a per- 
manent mission was established among them. 

By the close of the year 1646 the French had established a line of 
missions extending across the continent from Lake Superior to Nova 
Scotia, and between sixty and seventy missionaries were actively engaged 
in instructing and preaching to the savages. How far the labors of these 
devoted men were actually successful will never be known, as their work 
was of a character which cannot be submitted to any human test. They 
did not succeed, however, in changing either the character or the habits 
of their converts. They were still Avild men, who scorned to engage in 
the labor of cultivating their lands, and lived by hunting and fishing. 
They learned to engage in the religious services of the missionaries, to 
chant matins and vespers, but they made no approach to civilization. 
When in after years the zeal of the whites for their conversion became 
less active, and the missionaries less numerous, they fell back into their 
old ways. 

In 1648 the peace between the Mohawks and the Hurons was broken, 
and the war blazed up again fiercer than ever. Bands of IMohawk war- 
riors invaded the territory of the Hurons, and both the savage and the 
missionary fell victims to their fury* On the morning of the 4th of July 
the village of St. Joseph, on Lake Simcoe, was attacked by a war party 
of the Mohawks. The Huron braves were absent on a hunting expedi- 
tion, and only the old men and the women and children of the tribe 
were left in the village. This was the village founded by the mission- 
aries Brabouf and Daniel, the latter of whom, now an old man, was 
still dwelling with his converts. At the opening of the attack the good 



VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI 307 

priest hastened to baptize such as he could, and to give absolution to all 
whom he could reach. Then, as the Mohawks forced the stockade which 
protected the village, and swarmed in among the wigwams, he advanced 
calmly from the chapel to meet them, and fell pierced with numerous arrows. 

During the next year the Jesuit missions in Upper Canada were 
broken up. At the capture of the village Father Brabeuf and his com- 
panion Gabriel Lallemand were made prisoners, and were subsequently 
put to death with the cruellest tortures. They bore their sufferings with 
a firmness which astonished their persecutors. The Hurons were scat- 
tered, and their country was added to the dominion of the Five Nations. 
Many of the captive Hurons were adopted into the conquering tribes. A 
large number of these had embraced Christianity — so many, indeed, that 
the Jesuits, who had been in nowise discouraged by the terrible scenes 
which had marked the war, began to cherish the hope that the presence 
of these converts would induce the Iroquois to receive a missionary 
among them. It was decided to make the attempt among the Onondagas, 
and Oswego, which was their principal village, was chosen as the site of 
the mission. The Iroquois made no effort to disturb the missionaries, 
and priests were sent among the other tribes of the confederacy. En- 
couraged by this reception the French undertook to secure a firm footing 
in this inviting region by establishing a colony at the mouth of the 
Oswego, and fifty persons were despatched to that point to begin a settle- 
ment there. This aroused the alarm of the Indians, who compelled the 
colonists to withdraw, and forced the missionaries to depart with them. 
This was the last effort of the French to obtain possession of New York. 
The Five Nations were not to be reconciled with them on any terms, and 
their hostility made it useless to attempt the colonization of that fertile 
region. 

Defeated in their hope of obtaining a footing in the country of the 
Five Nations, the Jesuit fathers turned their attention more energetically 
to the vast region beyond the lakes. In 1654 two young fur-traders had 
penetrated into the country beyond Lake Superior, and after an absence 
of two years had returned to Quebec, bringing with them accounts of the 
powerful and numerous tribes occupying that region. They brought 
with them a number of Indians, who urged the French to open commer- 
cial relations with and send missionaries among these tribes. Their 
request was promptly granted, and missionaries were soon on the ground. 
One of these, the aged Father Mesnard, while journeying through the 
forests, wandered off from his attendants, and was never seen again. His 
cassock and breviary were found by the Sioux and were long retained by 
them as a protection against evil. 



308 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

In 1665 Father Claude Allouez ascended the Ottawa, and crossed the 
wilderness to the Sault Stc-Marie, on a mission to the tribes of the far 
west. In October he reached the principal town of the Chippewas at the 
head of Lake Superior. He found the tribe in great excitement ; the 
young Avarriors were eager to engage in a war against the formidable 
Sioux, and the old men were seeking to restrain them. A grand council 
was in progress, which was attended by the chiefs of ten or twelve of the 
neighboring tribes for the purpose of preserving peace if possible. 
Father Allouez was admitted to this assembly, and exhorted the warriors 
to abandon their hostile intentions, and urged them to join the French in 
an alliance against the Five Nations. His appeal was successful ; the 
war against the Sioux was abandoned, and the savages came in from all 
parts of the surrounding country to listen to the words of the missionary. 
A chapel was built on the shore of the lake, and the mission of the Holy 
Si)irit was founded. The fame of the missionary spread far to the west 
and north, and the tribes dwelling north of Lake Superior, the Pottawat- 
omics from Lake Michigan, who worshipped the sun, and the Sioux and 
the Illinois from the distant prairies of the west, came to the mission to 
hoar the teachings of the missionary. They told him of their country, 
an unbroken expanse of level land, without trees, but covered with long, 
rich grass, upon which grazed innumerable herds of buffalo and deer ; of 
the rice which grew wild in their distant homes ; of the rich yield of 
maize Avhich their fields produced ; of the copper mines of which they 
but dimly comprehended the value ; and of the great river which flowed 
through their countrv from the far north to the unknown reg-ions of the 
soutli, and which Allouez understood them to call the "Messipi." After 
remaining at his mission for two years Allouez returned to Quebec to ask 
for other laborers in the great field around him, and to urge the French to 
establish permanent settlements of emigrants or traders in the Lake 
Sufjcrior country. He remained at Quebec two days, was given an assist- 
ant, and at once returned to his post, where he continued his labors for 
many yciirs. " During his long sojourn he lighted the torch of faith for 
more than twenty different nations." 

In 1668 the French West India Company, under whose auspices the 
settlement of Canada had been conducted, rollncpushed their monopoly 
of the fur-trade, and a groat improvement in the condition and prosj)ects 
of Canada ensued. In the same year Fathers Claude Dablon and James 
Marquette established the mission of Ste-Marie at the rapids through 
whioii the waters of Lake Superior rush into those of Huron. " For 
the succeeding years," says Bancroft, " the illustrious triumvirate, Allouez, 
Dablon, and Marquette, were employed iu confirming the influence of 



VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPFL 309 

France in the vast regions that extend from Green bay to tlie head of 
Lake Superior, mingling happiness with suiFering, and winning enduring 
glory by their fearless perseverance." 

In 1669 Father Alloiicz went to establish a mission at Green bay, and 
Father Marquette took his place at the mission of the Holy Spirit. JNIur- 
quette had heard so much of the Mississippi that he resolved to under- 
take the discovery of the upper waters of that stream. He employed a 
young Illinois warrior as his companion, and from him learned the dia- 
lect of that tribe. In 1673, accompanied by a fellow-priest named Joliet, 
five French boatmen, and some Indian guides and inter})reters, bearing 
their canoes on their backs, Marquette set out from his mission, and 
crossing the narrow portage which divides the Fox river from the Wis- 
consin, reached the headwaters of the latter stream. There the guides 
left them, wondering at their rashness in seeking to- venture into a region 
which the simple imagination of the savages filled with vague terrors. 
The adventurers floated down the Wisconsin, and in seven days entered 
the Mississippi, " with a joy that could not be expressed." Raising the 
sails of their canoes they glided down the mighty father of waters, gaz- 
ing with wonder upon the magnificent forests which lined its shores, and 
which swarmed with game, and admiring the boundless prairies which 
stretched away from either bank to the horizon. 

One hundred and eighty miles below the mouth of the Wisconsin the 
voyagers for the first time discovered signs of human beings. They 
landed, and found an Indian village a few miles distant from the river. 
They were kindly received by the inhabitants, who spoke the language 
of the Indians who had come with Marquette, and a week was passed at 
this hospitable village. The villagers told the travellers that the lower 
river extended far to the south, where the heat was deadly, and that in 
those latitudes the stream abounded with monsters which destroyed both 
men and canoes. At the departure of the whites the chief of the tribe 
hung around Marquette's neck the peace-pipe, and explained to him that 
it would prove a safeguard to him among the tribes into whose territory 
his journey would lead him. 

Continuing their voyage the explorers reached the mouth of the Mis- 
souri, and noticed the strong, muddy stream which it poured into the 
Mississippi. "When I return," said Marquette, "I will ascend that 
river and pass beyond its headwaters, and proclaim the gospel." One 
hundred and twenty miles farther south they passed the mouth of the 
Ohio, of which river they had heard from the Illinois at the village they 
had visited. As they proceeded farther south the heat became more in- 
tense, for it was the month of July. They met with Indians, whose 



310 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



hostility was disarmed by the peace-pipe which Marquette bore. Some 
of these Indians were armed with axes of European manufacture, which 
they had obtained either from the Spaniards in the far south, or from the 
English in Virginia. The voyage was continued to the mouth of the 
Arkansas. Marquette was now satisfied that the great river flowed into the 
Gulf of Mexico, and as he was fearful of falling into the hands of the 
Spaniards in that region he decided to bring his voyage to an end, and 
return to the lakes. The task of ascending the river was accomplished 
with great difficulty, and at length the mouth of the Illinois was reached. 
As they supposed this stream would lead them to the lakes the voyagers 




ALTON, ILL. 



ascended it to its headwaters, and then crossed the country to the site of 
Chicago, from wliich they continued the voyage by way of Lake ]\Iichi- 
gan to Green bay. 

Marquette despatched Joliet to Quebec to report the results of the 
voyage, but himself remained at Green bay. It was his purpose to 
preach the gospel among the Illinois, who had begged him during his 
voyage to come back to them. He was detained rvt Green bay for some 
time by feeble health, but in 1675 went back to the Illinois, and began 
his labors among them. Feeling that his end was near he undertook to 
return to the mission of St. INIary's, but fell ill on the way. He gave 
absolution to all his companions, and retired to pray. An hour after- 



VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPL 311 

wards, uneasy at his absence, his people went to seek him, and found him 
kneeling, but praying no longer, for his spirit had gone to receive its re- 
ward. He was buried on the banks of the river that bears his name, 
and his memory was long cherished with affection by the Indians. 

The work of exploration which Marquette had begun was taken up by 
a bolder and firmer hand. Robert Cavalier de la Salle, a man of good 
family, had been educated for the service of the Jesuits, but had aban- 
doned his design of entering that order after completing his educa- 
tion. In 1667 he had emigrated to Canada to seek his fortune, and 
had established himself as a fur-trader on Lake Ontario. Encouraged 
by the governor of Canada he had explored Lake Ontario, and had 
ascended to Lake Erie. When the French governor a few years later 
built Fort Frontenac to guard the outlet of Lake Ontario, La Salle was 
granted an extensive domain, including Fort Frontenac, now the town of 
Kingston, on condition that he would maintain the fort. He thus 
obtained the monopoly of the fur-trade with the Five Nations. Here he 
was residing at the time of the death of Marquette. 

The news of Marquette's discoveries filled him with the deepest interest, 
and he was eager to continue the exploration of the river at the point at 
which Marquette had discontinued it, and to trace it to its mouth. He 
was already on the road to fortune, but the prospect of winning greater 
fame was too tempting to be resisted, and leaving his possessions on Lake 
Ontario, he sailed for France and laid before Colbert, the minister, the 
schemes he had formed for the exploration and colonization of the valley 
of the Mississippi. He obtained a grant of valuable privileges and 
received permission to attempt the task of adding that vast region to the 
dominions of France. He returned to Fort Frontenac in the autumn of 
1678, bringing with him as his lieutenant an Italian veteran named 
Tonti and a number of mechanics and seamen, together with the materials 
for rigging a ship. Before the winter had set in he ascended Lake 
Ontario to the Niagara river, where he built a trading-post. Then 
passing around the falls, he constructed a vessel of sixty tons at the foot 
of Lake Erie. Tonti and Father Hennepin, a Franciscan, went among 
the Senecas during the construction of the ship and established friendly 
relations with them, and La Salle exerted himself to procure furs with 
which to freight his vessel. The vessel completed, he ascended Lake 
Erie, passed through the straits into Lakes Huron and Michigan, and 
entered Green bay. Then loading his vessel wath a cargo of valuable 
furs, he sent her to the Niagara, with orders to return with supplies as 
soon as possible. During her absence La Salle and his companions 
ascended Jjsike Michigan in canoes as far as the mouth of the St. Joseph's, 



312 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



wliere they built a fort. Then crossing over to the valley of the Illinois, 
he built a fort on a bluff near the site of Peoria, and awaited the return 
of the " Griffin." The vassel had been wrecked on the voyage to Niagara, 
and when it became evident that she would not return, La Salle named 
his fort Cr^vecoeur ("Heartbreak"). 

Supplies were necessary to the exploration of the Mississippi, and La 
Salle being determined to obtain them, took with him three companions 
and crossed the wilderness to Fort Frontenac, which he reached in the 
spring of 1680. During his absence Father Hennepin, by his orders, 







FALLS OF ST. ANTHONY. 



explored tlie upper Mississippi as far as the falls, which he named in 
honor of St. Anthony, the patron saint of the expedition. In the summer 
of 1G<S0 La Salle returned to the Illinois, but various causes intervening 
to delay him, he was not able to undertake his exploration of the Missis- 
sippi until 1682. In that year he built a barge on the upper Illinois, 
and embarking with his companions, floated down that stream to the 
Mississippi, Avhich he descended to the Gulf of JNIexico. He named the 
country along the banks of the river Louisiana, in honor of Louis XIV., 
King of France. Then ascending the Mississippi, he returned by the 



VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI 313 

lakes to Quebec, and in 1683 sailed for France to enlist the government 
and people in his project for colonizing the country along the lower 
Mississippi. 

His design was encouraged by the king, and emigrants were readily 
found. In 1684 he sailed from France with four ships and two hundred 
and eighty persons to plant a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. 
IJnluippily the commander of the fleet was not in symjjathy witli La 
Salle, and being jealous of his authority, manifested a degree of stubborn- 
ness which was fatal to the expedition. One hundred of the colonists 
were soldiers ; of the rest, some were volunteers, some mechanics, some 
women, and some priests. After a long voyage they entered the Gulf of 
,Mexico in January, 1685. They sailed past the mouth of the Mississi})pi, 
and when I^a Salle perceived his error, Beaujeu, the commander of the 
fleet, refused to return, but continued his western course until the bay of 
Matagorda was reached. There La Salle, weary of his disputes with 
Beaujeu, resolved to land, hoping that he might yet find the mouth of 
the Mississippi. A careless ])ilot, in attempting to get the store-ship into 
the harbor, wrecked her, and all the supplies which Louis XIV. had 
provided with a lavish hand were lost. 

The colony, which was named Fort St. Louis, was from the first 
doomed to misfortune, and in a little more than two years was reduced 
by disease and suffering to thirty-six persons. In January, 1687, La 
Salle, leaving twenty men at Fort St. Louis, set out with sixteen men to 
march across the continent to Canada to obtain aid for the settlement. 
His remarkable courage and determination would doubtless have accom- 
plished this feat, but on the way he was murdered by two of his men, 
who regarded him as the author of their sufferings. Of the rest of his 
companions, five who kept together reached a small French post near the 
mouth of the Arkansas, after a journey of six months. The twenty men 
left at Fort St. I^ouis were never heard of again. The effort to colonize 
Texas completely failed, and all that was accomplished by La Salle's 
enterprise was the establishment of the claim of France to this region. 

To La Salle is due the credit of having been the first to comprehend 
the importance of securing to France the great region watered by the 
Mississippi and its tributaries, and it was through his efforts that the 
attention of France was seriously directed to its colonization. His 
remarkable qualities must always command the admiration and his sad 
fate elicit the sympathy of all generous hearts. 

While La Salle was vainly striving to accomplish some good result 
with the Texas colony, his friend and lieutenant Tonti, in obedience to 
his instructions, started from the Illinois and descended the Mississippi 



314 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

almost to its mouth, hoping to meet him. At length, despairing of seeing 
him, Tonti engraved a cross and the arms of France upon a tree on the 
banks of the river, and returned to the Illinois. 

In 1G99, twelve years after the death of La Salle, another and this 
time a successful effort was made to secure Louisiana to France. Lemoine 
d'Ibberville, a native of Canada and a man of ability and courage, 
resolved to plant a colony near the mouth of the Mississippi. With four 
vessels and two Imndred emigrants, some of whom Avere women and 
children, he sailed from Canada for the mouth of the Mississippi. He 
landed at the moutli of the river Pascagoula, and with two barges 
manned by forty-eight men searched the coast for the moutli of the 
Mississippi. He found it and ascended as high as the mouth of the Red 
river. Here lie was met by the Indians, who, to his astonishment, gave 
him a letter %vhich had been placed in their charge fourteen years before. 
It was from Tonti, and was addressed to La Salle. He had given it to 
the Indians, and had charged them to deliver it to the first Frenchman 
they met. D'Ibberville returned to the gulf by way of Lakes Maurepas 
and Pontchartrain, which he named after two of the ministers of Louis 
XIV. Deeming the shores of the Mississippi too marshy for coloniza- 
tion, D'Ibberville formed a settlement at Biloxi, at the mouth of the 
Pascagoula^ within the limits of the present State of Mississippi, and soon 
afterwards sailed for France to obtain reinforcements and supplies, 
leaving one of his brothers, Sauville by name, as governor, and tlie other, 
Bienville, to exjilore the Mississippi and the country along its banks. 

Early in 1700 D'Ibberville returned from France, and about the same 
time Tonti, La Salle's former lieutenant, now an aged man, arrived from 
the country of the Illinois. Acting upon Tonti's advice, D'Ibberville 
ascended the ^lississippi for four liundred miles, and on the site of the 
present city of Natchez built a fort which he named Rosalie, in honor of 
the Duchess of Pontchartrain. Neither the settlement at Biloxi nor 
Rosalie prospered, however. The colonists were a shiftless set, and 
instead of seeking to cultivate the soil and establish homes for themselves, 
went farther west to seek for gold. In 1702 D'Ibberville removed the 
colony from Biloxi to Mobile, which was founded in that year, and 
became the capital of Louisiana and the centre of the French influence in 
the south. This settlement languished, however, and in ten years only 
two hundred emigrants were added to its population. It was forced to 
depend upon the French colonies in the West Indies for subsistence. 

In 1714 the French government, becoming convinced that it was 
necessary to make a more vigorous effort to colonize Louisiana if it 
meant to hold that country, granted a monopoly of trade to Arthur 



VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPL 



315 



Crozat, who agreed to send over every year two ships laden with emi- 
grants and supplies, and also a cargo of African slaves. The king, on 
his part, agreed to furnish the sum of ten thousand dollars annually for 
the protection of the colony. In the same year a trading-house was 
established at Natchitoches on the Red river, and another on the Ala- 
bama, near the present site of Montgomery. Fort Rosalie was made the 
centre of an important trade, and matters began to wear a new aspect in 
Louisiana. In 1718 Bienville, who had become satisfied of the propriety 
of removing the seat of government from Mobile to the more productive 
region of the lower Mississippi, put the convicts to work to clear up the 
thicket of cane which covered the site on which he meant to locate his 




HUMBOLDT PALISADES, PACIFIC RAILWAY. 

new city, and upon the ground thus prepared erected a few huts, the 
germ of the great city of New Orleans. It grew more rapidly than any 
of the settlements in Louisiana. In 1722 it con tamed about one hundred 
log huts, and a population of seven hundred. In 1723 the seat of gov- 
ernment was removed from Mobile to New Orleans; and in 1727 the 
construction of the levee was begun. 

While these efforts were in progress on the lower Mississippi the French 
were even more active in the west. Detroit was founded in 1701, and 
the villages of Kaskaskia and Cabokia were formed around the stations 
of the missionaries on the east bank of the Mississippi, above the mouth 
of the Ohio. The French poj)ulation in America grew very slowly, 



316 HISTORY OF THE UNITED • STATES. 

however. In 1690 the population of Canada was only twelve hundred ; 
that of Acadia, or Nova Scotia, less than one thousand ; and that of 
Louisiana less than five hundred. 

France had formed a deliberate and magnificent plan with respect to 
her American possessions. She meant to build up a mighty empire in 
the valley of the Mississippi, extending from the great lakes to the Gulf 
of Mexico, and touching Canada. Her efforts to accomplish this Mere 
lavish and persistent, but the unhealthiness of the climate and the almost 
constant wars with the Natchez and Chickasaw Indians disheartened the 
settlers, and the French population grew so slowly that it could not 
accomplish the destiny demanded of it by the government at home. As 
late as 1740 Louisiana contained only about five thousand whites and less 
than two thousand five hundred negroes. The slow increase of the popu- 
lation made it necessary to hold the country by a series of military posts. 
By the year 1750 more than sixty of these posts had been built between 
Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico, by way of Green bay, the Illinois, 
the Wabash, and the Maumee rivers, and along the INIississippi to New 
Orleans. The most important of these forts were held by garrisons of 
regular troops, who were relieved once in six years. They accomplished 
this in the face of the constant hostility of their old enemies, the tribes 
of the Five Nations, and the Natchez and Chickasaws. In 1748 the 
French extended their claim to the country south of Lake Erie, as far 
east as the mountains, which they explored, and took formal possession 
of by burying at the most important points leaden plates engraved with 
the arms of France. According to the ideas of the times their claim was 
a valid one. 

In the meantime the settlements of Louisiana had been obliged to 
struggle against the constant hostility of the Natchez Indians, who occu- 
pied the country around the present city which bears their name. They 
were not very numerous, but were more intelligent and civilized than the 
tribes among whom they dwelt. They worshipped the sun, from which 
deity their principal chief claimed to be descended. They watched the 
growing power of the J'rench with alarm, and at length resolved to put 
a stop to the progress of the whites by a general massacre. On the 28th 
of November, 1729, they fell upon the settlement at Fort Rosalie and 
massacred tlie garrison and settlers, seven hundred in number.. They 
were not long permitted to exult over their success. When the news of 
the massacre reached New Orleans Bienville resolved to retaliate severely 
upon the aggressors. He applied to the Choctaws, the hereditary enemies 
of the Natchez, for assistance, and was furnished by them with sixteen 
hundred warriors. With these and his own troops Bienville besieged the 



VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPL 317 

Natchez in their fort ; but they escaped under the cover of the night and 
fled west of the Mississippi. They were followed by the French and 
forced to surrender ; after which they were taken to New Orleans and 
sent to St. Domingo, where they were sold as slaves. The Great Sun 
was among the captives, and the tribe of the Natchez was completely 
destroyed. 

It was well known to the French that the Chickasaws, a powerful 
tribe dwelling between the territory of the Natchez and the Ohio on the 
north, and as far as the country of the Cherokees on the east, had incited 
the Natchez against them. Bienville therefore resolved to turn his arms 
against them. They had also given great trouble to the French by 
attacking and plundering their trading-boats descending the Mississippi 
from the posts on the Illinois. Bienville concerted measures for a com- 
bined attack upon the Chickasaws with D'Artaguette, governor of the 
Illinois country, and two expeditions were despatched against the Indians. 
Bienville, with a strong force of French troops and twelve hundred 
Choctaw warriors, sailed in boats from New Orleans to Mobile and 
ascended the Tombigbee five hundred miles, to the place noWiknown as 
Cotton Gin Point. He landed here and marched twenty-five miles over- 
land to the principal fort of the Chickasaws, which he at once attacked. 
He was repulsed with the loss of one hundred men, and was so discour- 
aged that he returned to New Orleans. D'Artaguette entered the 
Chickasaw country with fifty Frenchmen and one thousand Indians. He 
was defeated and taken prisoner, and was burned at the stake in May, 
1735. In 1740 another effort was made by the French to crush the 
Chickasaws, but was equally unsuccessful. 





CHAPTER XXI. 

THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH COME IN CONFLICT. 

Relations between the English and the Five Nations — The Hostility of tlie Latter to the 
French — King William's War — Destruction of Dover — The Jesuit Missionaries incite 
the Indians to attack the English — Expedition against Quebec — Attack on Dustin'a 
Farm — Peace of Kyswick — Hostility of the English to Roman Catholics — Queen Anne's 
War — Burning of Deerfield — Eunice Williams — Cruelties of the French — Effort of 
New England to Conquer Acadia — Capture of Port Royal — Failure of the Expedition 
against Quebec — King George's War — Expedition against Louisburg — Its Composition 
— Arrival of the Fleet at Cape Breton — Good Conduct of the Provincials — Cajitture of 
Louisburg — Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle — Unjust Treatment of the Colonies by England 
— Sentiment of the Americans towards England. 



HE territory of the Five Nations lay between the English and 
French colonies. The friendship which these tribes had borne 
fr^N'' to the Dutch was transferred to the English upon the conquest 
CU)^ of New Netherlands by the latter, and they remained the faith- 
ful and devoted allies of Great Britain until after the Revolution. 
Though they remained at peace with the French for some years after the 
treaty which has been mentioned in the preceding chapter, they regarded 
a renewal of hostilities with them as certain, and were on the whole 
anxious to resume the struggle at the earliest moment. James IL, eager 
to establish the Roman Catholic religion in America, instructed the gov- 
ernor of New York to cultivate friendly relations with the French, and 
to exert all his influence to induce the Five Nations to receive Jesuit 
missionaries. The governor, however, saw that the French were rapidly 
monopolizing the fur-trade, and he encouraged the Five Nations to regard 
them with suspicion and dislike. The French by their own bad treat- 
ment of the IMohawks put an end to the hope of a lasting peace with them. 
Upon the escape of James II. to France, Louis XIV. warmly espoused 
the cause of the dethroned king, which he declared was the cause of 
legitimate monarchy as opposed to the right of the people to self-govern- 
ment ; and the war which was thus begun in Europe spread to the pos- 
sessions of the rival powers in America. The objects of the two parties 
in America were very different. That of the people of New England, 
who were principally interested in the struggle, was to secure their north- 
ern frontier against invasion from Canada, and to get possession of the 
318 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH IN CONFLICT. 



319 



fisheries. The French, on the other hand, wished to obtain entire control of 
the valley of the Mississippi, which would make them sole masters of the 
fur-trade, and to extend their power over the valley of the St. Lawrence, 
and thus obtain control of the fisheries also. To accomplish their first 
object the friendship of the Indian tribes in the valley of the Mississippi 
was indispensable, and they exerted every means of which they were pos- 
sessed to gain it. They renewed their eflForts to win over the Five 
Nations, but without success. Tha war between these tribes and the 
French was soon renewed, as has been related, and on the 25th of August, 
1689, a band of fifteen hundred Mohawk warriors surprised and captured 
Montreal, and put two hundred of the inhabitants to death with horrible 
cruelty. An equal number of whites were made prisoners. 




BURNING OF DOVER. 



In the same year Count Frontenac was appointed governor of Canada 
for the second time. He came resolved to break the power of the 
English, and reached Canada just in time to hear of the capture of Mon- 
treal. He at once set to work to incite the Indians to a series of incur- 
sions against the English settlements which should thoroughly establish 
his influence over the savage warriors, who would obey none but a 
successful chief, and at the same time strike terror to the enemies of 
France. The first blow was struck at Dover, in New Hampshire. The 
commander of the garrison at this place was Major Richard Waldron. 
Thirteen years before, during King Philip's war, two hundred Eastern 
Indians came to Dover to treat of peace. Waldron treacherously seized 
them and sent them to Boston, where some of them were hanged and the 



320 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

remainder sold into slavery. The savages had neither forgotten nor 
forgiven the wrongs of their brothers, and now they resolved to meet the 
whites with their own weapons of deceit and treachery. 

On the evening of the 27th of June, 1689, two Indian squaws came to 
Dover and asked for a night's lodging. Waldron, now an old man of 
eighty, was unsuspicious of harm. Their request was granted, and the 
squaws were lodged in his house. In the dead of the night the women 
arose, unbarred the gates, and admitted the warriors who had lain in 
ambush near the town. Waldron's house was first entered ; the first duty 
of the savages being to discharge their debt of vengeance. The brave 
old man seized his sword and defended himself until he was felled to the 
floor by a blow which stunned him. He was then seated in a chair and 
placed on a table, and the savages saluted him with jeers. " Who will 
judge Indians now ? " they asked. " Who will hang our brothers ? Will 
the pale face AValdron give us life for life ? " As they spoke they gashed 
him across the breast with their knives, inflicting wounds equal in number 
to their friends whom he had betrayed. The old man bore his tortures 
firmly until he died ; the Indians then set fire to the house and burned 
the rest of the settlement. Nearly half the inhabitants were murdered, 
and the remainder were carried into captivity. 

The other frontier towns suffered severely from Maine to New York. 
A band of French and Indians, in February, 1690, toiled across the 
wilderness from Montreal to central New York on snow-shoes, and 
surprised Schenectady. The place was burned, the majority of the settlers 
were killed, and many women and children were carried into captivity. 
A few escaped through the snow to Albany. Deerfield and Haverhill in 
Massachusetts, Salmon Falls in New Hampshire, and Casco in Maine 
met a similar fate. The French had resolved to make the war one of 
extermination, and neither they nor their savage allies showed any mercy 
to the English in their hour of triumph. 

The savages were incited to their bloody task by the Jesuit mission- 
aries. The first race of missionaries, whose good deeds we have chron- 
icled in the last chapter, had died out, and their successors could conceive 
of no higher standard of duty than the extermination of the English 
heretics. They roused the fury of their dusky converts against the 
English as the enemies of the Roman religion, and then, confessing and 
absolving the savage warriors, sent them forth to murder and destroy, 
with the solemn assurance that such acts on their part would win them 
the favor of their Father in heaven. When peace was made tAVO Jesuit 
priests, Thury and Bigot, induced the Eastern Indians to break the 
treaty and renew the war, and even took pride in acknowledging them- 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH IN CONFLICT. 321 

selves the instigators of the atrocities of the savages. These things were 
well understood among the English, and they came to regard the Jesuit 
missionaries as the enemies of mankind. Menaced by the French and 
Indians on the frontiers, the English Protestants may be excused for 
regarding with suspicion the Roman Catholics of Maryland. So deep 
M^as the horror which the work of the Jesuits aroused, that even in Rhode 
Island, the home of perfect toleration, it was enacted that a Roman 
Catholic should not become a freeman of the province. 

In May, 1690, a congress of delegates from Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
and New York was held at New York for the purpose of concerting a 
plan for an invasion of Canada. It was resolved to send an army against 
Montreal by way of Lake Champlain, while Massachusetts should 
despatch a fleet to attack Quebec. The first expedition, composed of the 
troops of New York and Connecticut, advanced to Lake Champlain, 
attended by a strong force of Mohawk allies. Frontenac promptly 
assembled his French and Indians for the defence of Montreal, and 
succeeded in inflicting a sharp defeat upon the Mohawks, under Colonel 
Philip Schuyler, who led the advance of the English army. The 
Mohawks were unable to regain their lost ground, and the provincial 
troops were delayed by the dissensions of their leaders until the provis- 
ions ran short and the small-pox broke out among the men. It then 
became necessary to abandon the attempt. 

In the meantime Massachusetts equipped a fleet of thirty-two vessels 
and two thousand men, and despatched it to the St. Lawrence under the 
command of the governor, Sir William Phipps, whose incompetency 
produced the failure of the expedition. Frontenac was promptly informed 
of the departure of the fleet by an Indian runner from the Piscataqua, 
who reached Montreal in twelve days. Frontenac at . once set out for 
Quebec, and arrived there three days in advance of the English fleet, 
which was obliged to feci its way cautiously up the St. Lawrence. When 
the hostile vessels arrived off the city, Quebec was prepared to offer a 
determined resistance. After a few harmless demonstrations. Sir William 
Phipps withdrew and returned to Boston, to the great disappointment of 
the colony. A large debt had been incurred in this enterprise and a 
number of valuable lives had been lost, but nothing had been gained. 

The Eastern Indians continued their aggressions, but were severely 
punished by Captain Samuel Churcl\, who had served with distinction in 
King Philip's war. On one occasion he was so exasperated by the cruel- 
ties of the savages that he put a number of his prisoners, including some 
women and children, to death. The savages mercilessly avenged the 
murder of their friends, and carried death and desolation along the bor- 
21 



322 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ders of New England. Nearly every settlement in Maine was destroyed 
by them or abandoned by the inhabitants, who fled to the other colonies 
for protection. The Indians prowled around the frontier posts. They 
had been Avell armed by the French, and shot down the men without 
-mercy. The women and children were generally spared and carried to 
Canada, where they were sold to the French as slaves. In 1693 peace 
was made with the Abenakis, or Eastern Indians ; but within a year the 
Jesuits had succeeded in inducing the savages to resume hostilities. 

A party of Indians attacked the house of a farmer named Dustin, 
residino- near Haverhill. He was at work in the field when the shouts 
of the savages warned him of the danger of his wife and children. 
Throwing himself on his horse, he hastened to their rescue, and on the 
way met his children flying for safety pursued by the savages. He threw 
himself in front of the little ones, and by a few well-aimed shots kept the 
pursuers back until the children reached a place of safety. Hannah 
Dustin, her youngest child — only a few days old — her nurse, and a boy 
from Worcester, unable to fly, were made prisoners by the Indians. The 
little one was killed, and the two women and the boy were carried away 
by the savages to their village, situated on an island in the Merrimac, 
just above Concord. Hannah Dustin resolved to escape, and communi- 
cated her plan to her companions. Each secured a tomahawk, and at 
night began the destruction of their captors, twelve in number. Ten 
Indians were killed and one squaw was wounded. The twelfth, a child, 
AA'as purposely spared. Then collecting the gun and tomahawk of the 
murderer of her infant, and a bag-full of scalps, the heroic woman 
secured a canoe, and embarking in it with her companions, floated down 
the Merrimac and soon reached Haverhill, where they were received with 
astonishment and delight by their friends. 

This struggle, which is known in American history as King M^iUiam's 
War, was brought to a close in September, 1697, by the Peace of Rys- 
wick. It had lasted seven years, and had caused severe suflering to the 
northern colonies, without yielding them any compensating advantages. 

The Five Nations were also severe sufferers. Failing to win them 
from their alliance with the English, Frontenac several times invaded 
their country with an army of French troops and Indians, and ravaged 
it Avith great cruelty. Frontenac led these expeditions in person, though 
he was seventy-four years old. 

The people of New York, regarding the Jesuits as the true authors of 
the miseries endured by the English and their allies, enacted a law in 
1700, that ever^'^ Romish priest who voluntarily came into the province 
should be hanged. 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH IN CONFLICT. 



323 



Five years after the Peace of Ryswick, the War of the Spanish Suc- 
cession, or, as it is known in American history. Queen Anne's War, 
began in Europe. It soon extended to America, and embroiled the 
English and French in this country. The English settlements on the 
western frontier of New England were almost annihilated by the Indians, 
and the French were unusually active. 

The people of Deerfield were warned by the friendly Mohawks that 




BURNING OF DEERFIELD, MASS. 

the French and Indians were meditating an attack upon their settlement, 
and through the winter of 1703-4 a vigilant watch was kept by night 
and day. The winter was very severe ; the snow lay four feet deep, and 
the clear, cold atmosphere made it almost as hard as ice. Profiting by 
this, a war party of about two hundred French and one hundred and 
forty-two Indians, under the command of Hertel de Rouville, set out 



324 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

from Canada, and by the aid of snow-shoes crossed the country on the 
snow and reached the vicinity of Deerfield on the last night of February, 
1704. Towards daybreak on the 1st of March the sentinels, supposing 
that all was safe, left their posts at Deerfield, and the enemy at once 
silently mounted on the snow-drifts to the top of the palisades and 
entered the enclosure, which had an area of twenty acres. A general 
massacre followed. The town was destroyed, forty persons were killed, 
and one hundred and twelve were carried away into Canada. 

Amono- the captives Avere the minister Williams, his wife Eunice, and 
their five children. The suflfc-rings of the prisoners on the march to 
Canada were fearful. Two men starved to death. The infant whose 
cries disturbed the captors was tossed out into the snow to die; and the 
mother who faltered from flitigue or anguish was despatched by a blow 
from the tomahawk. Eunice Williams had brought her Bible along 
with her, and in the brief intervals afforded by the halts of the savages 
for rest, drew from its sacred pages the consolations she so sorely needed. 
Her strength soon failed, as she had but recently recovered from her 
confinement. Her husband souglit to cheer her by pointing her to " the 
house not made with hands," and she assured him that she was satisfied 
to endure any suff(>ring, counting it gain for Christ's sake. Perceiving 
that her end was near, she commended her children to God and to their 
father's care, and was immediately killed by the savages, as she could go 
no farther. The Williams family were taken to Canada, and a few years 
later were ransomed,- with the exception of the youngest daughter, with 
whom the savages refused to part. She was adopted into a village of 
Christian Indians near ]Montreal, and became a convert to the Roman 
Catholic faith, and subsequently married a Mohawk chief. Years after- 
wards she appeared at Deerfield clad in the dress of her tribe. She had 
come to visit her relatives ; but no entreaties could induce her to remain 
with them, and slie went back to her adopted people and to her children. 
The M'ar was conducted with brutal ferocity by the French. Hertel 
de Rouville gained eternal infamy by his butcheries of helpless womei? 
and children. Vaudreuil, the governor of Canada, urged on his forces 
to deeds of fresh atrocity, but at length the savages became disgusted 
with their bloody work and refused to murder any more English. The 
French succeeded, however, in inducing some of them to continue their 
assistance, and in 1708 Haverhill was surprised by the French and 
Indians under Rouville, and its inhabitants massacred with the most 
fiendish cruelty. None of them escaped death or captivity. Filled with 
horror and indignation, Colonel Peter Schuyler, of Xew York, wrote to 
the ]\Iarquis de Vaudreuil : " I hold it my duty towards God and my 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH IN CONFLICT. 



325 



neighbor, to prevent, if possible, these barbarous and heathen cruelties. 
My heart swells with indignation when I think that a war between 
Christian princes, bound to the exactest laws of honor and generosity, 
which their noble ancestors have illustrated by brilliant examples, is 
degenerating into a savage and boundless butchery. These are not tlie 
methods for terminating the war." 

" Such fruitless cruelties," says Bancroft, " inspired our fathers with a 
deep hatred of the French missionaries ; they compelled the employment 
of a large part of the inhabitants as soldiers, so that there was one year 




RETURN OF THE DAUGHTER OP EUNICE WILLIAMS TO THE INDIANS. 

during this war when even a fifth part of all who were capable of bearing 
arms were in active service. They gave birth also to a willingness to 
exterminate the natives. The Indians vanished when their homes were 
invaded ; they could not be reduced by usual methods of warfare ; hence 
a bounty was offered for every Indian scalp ; to regular forces under pay 
the grant was ten jjounds — to volunteers in actual service, twice that 
sum ; but if men would, of themselves, without pay make up parties and 
patrol the forests in search of Indians, as of old the woods were scoured 
for wild beasts, the chase was invigorated by the promised ' encourage- 
ment of fifty pounds per scalp.' " 



326 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

In 1707 Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island made a 
combined attempt to conquer Acadia. A fleet was despatched against 
Port Royal, but without success. In 1710 a second expedition was sent 
from Boston against Port Royal, aided this time by an English fleet. 
Port Royal was taken, the French were driven out of the greater part 
of Acadia, and that province was annexed to the English dominions and 
called Nova Scotia. The name of Port Royal was changed to Annapolis, 
in honor of the Queen of England. 

Encouraged by this success, the English government the next year 
attempted the conquest of Canada by two expeditions, one by land and 
the other by sea. A powerful fleet and a strong army was despatched 
from England to cooperate with the colonists. The effort was unsuc- 
cessful. The fleet, which was badly handled by the admiral in attempt- 
ing to ascend the St. Lawrence, was wrecked with the loss of eight vessels 
and eight hundred and eighty-four men, and was obliged to return to 
Boston. The failure of the fleet to accomplish anything compelled the 
abandonment of the land expedition against Montreal. In 1713 the 
war was brought to an end by the treaty of Utrecht, by which Acadia 
was ceded permanently to Great Britain, and became a province of the 
English crown. 

After the close of Queen Anne's war the colonies remained at peace 
for nearly thirty years, during which time they were molested by neither 
French nor Indians. In 1744 the disputes in Eurojie concerning the 
succession to the Austrian throno culminatetl in a war, which is known 
in European History as the war of the Austrian succession, and in 
America as King George's war. As usual, England and France were 
arrayed on opposite sides, and their colonies in America soon became 
involved in hostilities. The French were the first to receive information 
from Europe of the existence of war, and began the struggle by attacking 
and capturing the English fort at Canso and carrying the garrison pris- 
oners to Louisburg. 

Louisburg, the principal port of the island of Cape Breton, was at 
this time the strongest fortress in America, and from its secure harbor 
the French were constantly despatching privateers against the merchant 
vessels and fishermen of New England. These depredations eausc<l such 
serious loss to the eastern colonies that at length Governor Shirley pro- 
posed to the general court of Massachusetts to undertake the capture of 
Louisburg as the only means of putting a stop to them, and this measure 
was laid by the general court before the other colonies. It was under- 
stood that no aid was to be expected from the mother country, which was 
too busily engaged in conducting the war in Europe, and that the colonies 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH IN CONFLICT. 327 

would be obliged to depend entirely upon their own resources for their 
success. Nevertheless, the measure was popular, and the enthusiasm of 
the colonists was aroused to the highest point. Nearly all the northern 
colonies had suffered severely at the hands of the French and Indians, 
and in every shipping port were to be foun^ scores of men who had been 
robbed and otherwise maltreated by the French privateers. Pennsyl- 
vania and New Jersey, under the influence of the Quaker dislike of war, 
declined to send troops, but furnished a fair supply of money to defray 
their share of the expenses of the expedition ; New York made a contri- 
bution of money and of a number of pieces of artillery ; Connecticut gave 
five hundred men, and New Hampshire and Rhode Island each con- 
tributed a regiment. Massachusetts, being the most interested in the 
success of the expedition by reas(m of being the largest owner of shipping, 
undertook the principal part of the expense and agreed to furnish a 
majority of the troops and the vessels. There was no difficulty in pro 
curing volunteers, but those who offered themselves were civilians, ignor- 
ant of military discipline, and utterly unprepared to attempt the reduc- 
tion of such a fortress as that against which the expedition was directed. 
These disadvantages, however, were lost sight of in the enthusiasm 
aroused by the hope of destroying the ability of the French to prey upon 
the conmierce of the colonies. Sir William Pepperell, a wealthy merchant 
of Maine, was elected commander of the expedition, which rendezvoused 
at Boston in the early spring of 1745. One hundred vessels and a force 
of over three thousand men were assembled, and about the 1st of April 
sailed for Canso, which was reached on the 7th. The ice was drifting in 
such quantities that the fleet could not enter the harbor of Louisburg, and 
was obliged to remain at Canso for more than two weeks. Admiral 
Warren, commanding the West India squadron, had been invited to join 
the expedition, but in the absence of instructions from England had 
declined to do so. Almost immediately afterwards he received orders 
from home to render Massachusetts every aid in his power, and at once 
joined the New England fleet at Canso with four ships of war and a 
detachment of regular troops. 

At length, the ice having moved southward, the New England fleet 
entered the harbor of Louisburg on the 30th of April. The fortress was 
built on a neck of land on the south side of the harbor, and its walls 
were from twenty to thirty feet high and forty feet thick at the base, and 
were surrounded with a ditch eighty feet in width. Outlying forts pro- 
tected the main work, and there was not a foot of the walls that was not 
swept by the fire of the artillery. Nearly two hundred and fifty cannon 
of all sizes constituted the armament of the fortress, and the principal 



328 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

outwork, the "royal battery/' was deemed capable of withstanding an 
attack of five thousand men. The garrison numbered sixteen hundred 
men. To attack this fortress the New England troops brought with 
them eigiiteen cannon and three mortars. 

As the fleet drew near the town the French marched down to the beach 
to oppose the landing of the troops. Immediately the whale-boats of 
the ships were lowered and manned, and at a signal from the flagship 
darted for the shore with a speed which astonished and struck terror to 
the French, who were quickly driven to the woods. The landing was 
secured, and the next day a detachment of four hundred men marched 
by the town, giving it three cheers as they passed, and took position near 
the northeast harbor, completely cutting off" the fortress from communi- 
cation with the country in its rear. This completed the investment, as 
the fleet closed the harbor, and prevented the approach of relief by sea. 
That night the troops in the royal battery spiked the guns of that work, 
abandoned it, and retreated into the town. It was immediately occupied 
by the New Englanders, who drilled the spikes out of the vent-holes of 
the guns, and turned them against the town. Batteries were erected by 
the colonial troops, and their fire opened upon Louisburg. The volun- 
teers proved admirable soldiers, exciting the surprise of the English 
naval officers by the readiness and facility with which they discharged the 
vai'ious duties required of them. Numbers of them were mechanics by 
profession, and their skill was of the greatest service in this emergencv. 
A New Hampshire colonel, who was a carpenter, constructed sledges with 
which to drag the artillery across a morass to the positions assigned the 
batteries. The weather was mild and singularly dry,- and the men were 
li^althy. "All day long the men, if not on duty, were busy with amuse- 
ments — firing at marks, fishing, fowling, wrestling, racing, or running 
after balls shot from the enemy's guns." 

In the meantime the ships of Admiral Warren blockaded the harbor, 
and not only prevented French vessels from entering the port, but suc- 
ceeded in decoying into the midst of the English fleet the French frigate 
"Vigilante" of sixty guns, which Avas capture<l after a sharp engagement 
of several hours. She was loaded with stores for the fortress, and these 
fell into the hands of the victors. 

The French commander, who had shown but little energy during the 
siege, was now so thoroughly disheartened that on the 17th of June, just 
seven weeks after the commencement of tlie investment, he surrendered 
the town and fortifications. As the colonial troops entered the place to 
take possession of it they were astonished at the strength of the works. 
" God has gone out of the way of his common providence, in a remark- 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH IN CONFLICT. 329 

able and miraculous manner," they said, " to incline the hearts of the 
French to give up, and deliver this strong city into our hands." The 
capture of Louisburg by the undisciplined volunteers of America was 
the greatest success achieved by England during the war. The colonists 
were justly proud of it. Bells were rung and bonfires lighted in all the 
colonies, and the people rejoiced greatly at the success of their brethren 
and friends. England with characteristic selfishness claimed the glory 
exclusively for the squadron of Admiral Warren. 

France was greatly alarmed at the capture of Louisburg, which seri- 
ously threatened her dominion in America, and measures were at once 
begun for its recovery, and for the destruction of the English colonies. 
In 1746 a large fleet was despatched to America under the Duke d'An- 
ville, but many of the vessels were lost at sea, and the fleet was greatly 
weakened by pestilence. In the midst of these misfortunes the Duke 
d'Anville suddenly died, and his successor lost his mind, and committed 
suicide. The expedition made no serious demonstration against the Eng- 
lish, and resulted in total failure. In 1747 another fleet was sent out 
from France for the same purpose, but was captured after a severe fight 
by an English fleet under Admirals Anson and Warren. 

In spite of these successes, however, the frontiers of the northern 
colonies suffered considerably, and the English government resolved to 
attempt once more the conquest of Canada. All the colonies were re- 
quired to furnish men or money to this enterprise, and eight thousand 
men were enlisted. The British government delayed, however, and 
finally abandoned the enterprise. On the 18th of October, 1748, the 
treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle closed the war. The treaty required tliat all 
places taken by either party during the war should be restored, and 
Louisburg was delivered up to the French, to the great disgust of the 
New England colonies, who saw all the results of their sacrifices thrown 
away, and their commerce and fisheries once more placed at the mercy of 
the French. England had never regarded the interests of her colonies 
as worth considering, however, and it was not to be expected that she 
should manifest any concern for them now. 

It was commonly believed in America, and with good reason, that the 
king did not desire that New England should enjoy the security necessary 
to her prosperity. His majesty was beginning to be jealous of his Ameri- 
can subjects, who had, as Admiral Warren expressed it, "the highest 
notion of the rights and liberties of an Englishman," and he was resolved 
to keep them so weak that they should not forget their dependence upon 
him. Peter Kalm, a Swedish traveller, who visited New York in 1748, 
thus records the prevailing sentiment in America at this period : " The 



330 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

English colonies in this part of the world have increased so much in 
wealth and population that they will vie with European England. But 
to maintain the commerce and the power of the metropolis they are for- 
bid to establish new manufactures, which might compete with the Eng- 
lish ; they may dig for gold and silver only on condition of shipping 
them immediately to England ; they have, with the exception of a few 
fixed places, no liberty to trade to any ports not belonging to the English 
dominions, and forei";ners are not allowed the least commerce with these 
American colonies. And there are many similar restrictions. These 
oppressions have made the inhabitants of the English colonies less tender 
to their mother land. This coldness is increased by the many foreigners 
who are settled among them ; for Dutch, Germans, and French are here 
blended with English, and have no special love for old England. Be- 
sides, some people are always discontented, and love change ; and exceed- 
ing freedom and prosperity nurse an untamable spirit. I have been told 
not only by native Americans, but by English emigrants, publicly, that 
within thirty or fifty years the English colonies in North America may 
constitute a separate state entirely independent of England. But as this 
whole country is towards the sea unguarded, and on the frontier is kept 
uneasy by the French, these dangerous neighbors are the reason why the 
love of these colonies for their metropolis does not utterly decline. The 
English government has, therefore, reason to regard the French in North 
America as the chief power that urges their colonies to submission." 

The war not only served to confirm the hostility of the Americans to 
France, but it also aided in opening the eyes of some of the most scep- 
tical of the colonists as to the deliberate intention of the mother country 
to persist in the injustice with which she had for so long treated her col- 
onies. Great Britain was slowly but surely alienating her American 
subjects, and was preparing them in the most certain manner for the great 
effort they were shortly to make to rid themselves of her tyranny. 

During the last year of the war an incident occurred at Boston which 
might have opened the eyes of the ministry to the growing determination 
of the Americans to resist any interference with their liberties. Deser- 
tions from the English ships-of-war in Boston harbor had become so fre- 
quent that Sir Charles Knowles, the commanding officer, sent his boats 
up to Boston one morning and seized a number of seamen in the vessels 
at the wharves, and a number of mechanics and laborers engaged in 
work on shore. The people of Boston indignantly demanded of the 
governor the release of the impressed men. As his excellency declined 
to interfere in the matter the people seized the commanders and officers 
of the ships who happened to be in the town, and kept them prisoners 
until they agreed to release the men they had unlawfully seized. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

England Claims the Valley of the Ohio — Organization of the Ohio Company — The French 
extend their Posts into the Ohio Country — Washington's Mission to the French at Fort 
Diiquesne — His Journey — Reception by the French — His Journey Home — A Perilous 
Undertaking — Organization of the Virginia Forces — Washington made Second in Com- 
mand — Tlie French Drive the English from the Head of the Ohio — Fort Duquesne 
Built by them — Washington Crosses the Mountains — The Fight at Great Meadows — 
Beginning of the French and Indian War — Surrender of Fort Necessity to the French — 
Unjust Treatment of the Colonial Officers — Congress of the Colonies at New York — 
Franklin's Plan of a Union of the Colonies — Its Failure — Reasons o^ the British Govern- 
ment for Rejecting it — England assumes the Direction of the War — Arrival of General 
Braddock — Plan of Campaign — Obstinacy of Braddock — He Passes the Mountains — 
Defeat of Braddock — Heroism of Washington — Retreat of Dunbar beyond the Moun- 
tains — Vigorous action of Pennsylvania — ^Vrmstrong defeats the Indians and burns the 
town of Kittanning. 

HE three wars between the English and French in America which 
we have just considered were but a prelude to the great struggle 
which Avas to decide which of these powers should control the 
destinies of the new world. The English, as we have seen, were 
growing stronger and more numerous along the Atlantic coast, 
and were directing their new settlements farther into tlie interior with 
each succeeding year. The French held Canada and the valley of the 
Mississippi, but their tenure was that of a military occupation rather 
than a colonization. 

Between the possessions of these hostile nations lay the valley of the 
Ohio, a beautiful and fertile region, claimed by both, but occupied as yet 
by neither. The French had explored the country, and had caused 
leaden plates engraved with the arms of France to be deposited at its 
principal points to attest their claim ; and had opened friendly relations 
with the Indians. The region had been frequently visited by the traders, 
who brought back reports of its remarkable beauty and fertility and of 
its excellent climate. The British government regarded this region as a 
portion of Virginia, and one of the chief desires of the Earl of Halifax, 
the prime minister of England, was to secure the Ohio valley by plant- 
ing an English colony in it. A company was organized in Virginia and 

331 




332 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Maryland for this purpose and for the purpose of trading with the Indians, 
and was warmly supported by the Earl of Halifax. It was named the 
Ohio Company, and at length succeeded in obtaining a favorable charter 
from the king, who, in March, 1749, ordered the governor of Virginia 
to assign to the Ohio Company five hundred thousand acres of land lying 
between the Monongahela and Kanawha rivers, and along the Ohio. 
Tiie company were required to despatch within seven years at least one 
hundred families to the territory granted them, to locate without delay 
at least two-fifths of the lands they desired to occupy, and to build and 
garrison a fort at their own cost. They were granted an exemption from 
quit rents and other dues for ten years, and this freedom from taxation 
was extended by the company to all who would settle in their domain. 

A number of Indian traders had located themselves west of the Alle- 
ghanies, and in order to supply these with the articles needed for their 
traffic with the Indians, the Ohio Company built a trading-post at Wills' 
creek, within the limits of Maryland, on the site of the present city of 
Cumberland. Here one of the easiest of the passes over the Alleghanies 
began, and by means of it the traders could easily transport their goods 
to the Indian country west of the mountains and return with the furs 
their traffic enabled them to collect. 

Being anxious to explore the country west of the mountains, the com- 
pany employed Christopher Gist, one of the most experienced Indian 
traders, and instructed him " to examine the western country as far as the 
falls of the Ohio, to look for a large tract of good level land, to mark the 
passes in the mountains, to trace the courses of the rivers, to count the 
falls, to observe the strength and numbers of the Indian nations." 

Gist set out on his ]>erilous mission on the last day of October, 1750, 
and crossing the mountains reached the Delaware towns on the Alleghany 
river, from which he passed down to liOgstown, a short distance below 
the head of the Ohio. " You are come to settle the Indians' lands ; you 
shall never go home safe," said the jealous people ; but in spite of their 
threats they suffered him to proceed without molestation. He traversed 
the country to the Muskingum and the Scioto, and then crossing the 
Ohio explored the Kentucky to its source, and returned to Wills' creek in 
safety. He reported that the region he liad traversed merited all the 
praise that had been bestowed upon it; that it possessed a pleasant and 
healthy climate, and was a land of great beauty. The soil was fertile 
and the streams abundant and excellent. The land was covered witii a 
rich growth of the most valuable and beautiful trees, and abounded i:i 
small level districts and meadows covered with long grass and Avhite 
clover, on wl'iich the elk, the deer, and the buffalo grazed in herds. AV'ild 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAB. 333 

turkeys and other game abounded, and the country offered every attrac- 
tion to settlers who were willing to improve it. Gist also reported that 
the agents of the French were actively engaged in seeking to induce the 
western tribes to make war upon the English and prevent them from 
obtaining a footing west of the mountains. The purposes of the English 
were well known to the French, who viewed them with alarm, as the 
successful occupation of the Ohio valley by the English would cut off the 
communication established by the French between Canada and the Mis- 
sissippi. This the French were resolved to prevent at any cost. The 
Indians regarded both of the white nations as intruders in their country. 
They were willing to trade with both, but were averse to giving up their 
lands to either. "If the French," said they, "take possession of the 
north side of the Ohio, and the English of the south, where is the 
Indian's land ? " 

The possession of the Ohio valley was thus of the highest importance 
to the French. Their fortified post of Fort Frontenac gave them the 
command of Lake Ontario, which they further secured by constructing 
armed vessels for the navigation of the lake. They retained their hold 
upon Lake Erie by strengthening Fort Niagara, which La Salle had built 
at the foot of that lake. They entered into treaties with the Shawnees, 
the Delawares, and other powerful tribes between the lake and the Ohio, 
and steadily pushed their way eastward towards the mountains. They 
began their advance into the vallev of the Ohio bv building a fort at 
Presque Isle, now the city of Erie, in Pennsylvania, another on French 
creek, on the site of the present town of Waterford, and a third on the 
site of the present town of Franklin, at the confluence of French creek 
with the Alleghany. 

These rapid advances eastward alarmed the English government, which 
instructed the governor of Virginia to address a remonstrance to the 
French authorities and to warn them of the consequences which must 
result from their intrusion into the territory of the English. To do this 
it was necessary for the governor to despatch his communication to the 
nearest French post by the hands of some messenger of sufficient resolu- 
tion to overcome the natural dangers of such an undertaking, and of suffi- 
cient intelligence to gain information respecting the designs and strength 
of the French ; and Governor Dinwiddle was somewhat at a loss to find 
such a person. Fortunately the man needed was at hand, and the atten- 
tion of the governor being called to him, his excellency decided to intrust 
him with the delicate and dangerous mission. 

The person selected for this task was a young man in the twenty -second 
year of his age, George Washington by name. He was a native of West- 




THE BRONZE DOOR IN THE NATIONAL CAPITOL COJIMEMORATIiia lUfi ifiV£JJI8 Of THE 
UFE OF OEOBQE WASHLKOTON. 

334 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 335 

moreland county, Virginia, where he was born on the 22d of February, 
1732. He was a great-grandson of the Colonel John Washington whom 
we have noticed as the leader of an expedition against the Indians in the 
time of Sir William Berkeley. His father, Augustine Washington, was 
a wealthy planter, but his death, when George was eleven years old, 
deprived his son of his care and also of the means of acquiring an educa- 
tion. He soon acquired all the learning that it was possible to gain at a 
country school, from which he passed to an academy of somewhat higher 
grade, where he devoted himself principally to the study of mathematics. 
His half brother, Lawrence, who was fourteen years older than himself, 
had received a careful education and directed the studies of his younger 
brother, to whom he was devotedly attached. 

Though deprived of the care of his father at such an early age it was 
the good fortune of George Washington to possess in his mother a guide 
well qualified to fill the place of both parents to her fatherless children. 
She was a woman of rare good sense, of great decision of character, and 
one whose life was guided by the most earnest Christian principle. Her 
tenderness and sweet womanly qualities won the devoted love of her 
children, and her firmness enforced their obedience. From her George 
inherited a quick and ardent temper, and from her he learned the lesson 
of self-control which enabled him to govern it. 

As a boy, Washington was noted for his truthfulness, his courage, and 
his generosity. He was both liked and respected by his schoolmates, and 
such was their confidence in his fairness and good judgment that he was 
usually chosen the arbiter of their boyish disputes. He joined heartily 
in their sports, and was noted for his skill in athletic exercises. He was 
a fearless rider, and a good hunter, and by his fondness for manly sports 
developed his naturally vigorous body to a high degree of strength. He 
was cheerful and genial in temper, though reserved and grave in man- 
ner. He early acquired habits of industry and order, and there are still 
existing many evidences of the careful and systematic manner in which 
he discharged every duty assigned him at this early age. 

At the age of fourteen it was decided that he should enter the navy, 
and his brother Lawrence, who had served with credit in that branch of 
the royal service, had no difficulty in obtaining for him a midshipman's 
warrant. The ship he Avas to join lay in the Potomac, and his trunk 
was sent on board ; but at the last moment his mother, dreading the effect 
of the temptations of a seaman's life upon a boy so young, appealed to 
him by his affection for hor to remain with her. Washington was sorely 
disappointed, but he yielded cheerfully to his mother's wish. 

The marriage of his brother Lawrence gave to the young man a second 



336 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

liome at IMoiint Vernon, where he passed a large part of his time. Here 
he was brought into constant contact with the most cultivated and refined 
society of Virginia, an association which had a happy influence upon the 
formation of his character. There also he formed the acquaintance and 
Avon the friendshij) of Lord Fairfax, the grandson of Lord Culpepper, 
and the inheritor of Culpepper's vast estates in Virginia, which com- 
prised about one-seventh of the area of the State of Virginia as it existed 
prior to the separation of West Virginia in 186L Lord Fairfax con- 
ceived a great fondness for the young man, and took a deep interest in 
his future welfare. Washington, upon leaving school, had chosen the 
profession of a surveyor as his future avocation, and soon after his first 
meeting with Lord Fairfax was employed by that nobleman to survey 
the lands belonging to him, many of which had been occupied by settlers 
without right or title. It was an arduous and responsible task, and 
Washington, who was just entering his seventeenth year, seemed almost 
too young for it ; but " Lord Thomas " had satisfied himself of his young 
friend's cajiability for it, and the result justified the opinion he had 
formed. His work was done with care and accuracy, and his measure- 
ments were so exact that they are still relied upon. 

His life as a surveyor was in many respects a hard one, but he enjoyed 
it. It gave new vigor to his naturally robust constitution and his 
splendid figure, and while yet a youth he acquired the appearance and 
habits of mature manhood. He also learned forest life in all its various 
phases, and by his constant intercourse with the hunters and Indians, 
gained a knowledge of the character and habits of these wild men which 
in after years was of infinite value to him. 

During his surveying expeditions AVashington was a frequent visitor 
at Grecnway Court, the seat of Lord Fairfax, wliere, in addition to the 
other attractions, there was a well-selected library, of which the young 
man re<nilarlv availed himself. His reading was of a serious and useful 
nature ; "Addison's S])cctator " and the " History of England " were 
among his favorite works. 

Though the heir to a considerable estate, Washington su]>ported iiim- 
self during this period by his eai'nings as a surveyor. " His father had 
bequeathed to the eldest son, Lawrence, the estate afterwards called 
Mount Vernon. To Augustine, the second son, he had given the old 
homestead in Westmoreland county. And George, at the age of twenty- 
one vears, was to iniicrit the house and lands in Suffolk county. As yet, 
however, he derived no benefit from this landed property. But his 
industry and diligence in his laborious occupation supplied him with 
abundant pecuniary means. His habits of life were simple and economi- 
cal ; he indulged in no gay and expensive pleasures." 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



337 



In 1751, in order to prepare for any emergency to which the hostility 
of the French and Indians might give rise, the colony of Virginia was 
divided into military districts, each of which was ])laced in charge of an 
adjutant and inspector, with the rank of Major, whose duty it was to 
keep the militia in readiness for instant service. Washington had at an 
early day evinced a great fondness for military exercises, and as a boy 
had often drilled his school-fellows in the simplest mana3uvres of the 
troops. As he advanced towards manhood, his brother Lawrence, 




THE WASHINGTON STATUE IN UNION SQUARE,. NEW YORK. 

Adjutant Muse, of Westmoreland, and Jacob Vanbraam, a fencing- 
master, and others, had given him numerous lessons in the art of war. 
Though but nineteen years old, he was regarded by his acquaintance as 
one of the best-informed persons upon military matters in the colony, and 
at the general desire of those who knew him he was commissioned a 
major in the colonial forces, and placed in command of one of the military 
districts. • He discharged his duties with ability and zeal, and gave such 
satisfaction that when Governor Dinwiddle, in 1752, divided the province 
into four military districts, Major Washington was placed in command 
22 



338 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



of the northern district. " The counties comprehended in this division 
he promptly and statedly traversed, and he soon effected the thorough 
discipline of their militia for warlike operations." He was discharging 
the duties of this position when selected by the governor of Virginia to 
bear his message to the commander of the French forces on the Ohio. 

Governor Dinwiddie intrusted to his young envoy a letter addressed to 
the commander of the French forces on the Ohio, in which he demanded 
of him his reasons for invading the territory of England while Great 
Britain and France were at peace with each other, Washington was 
instructed to observe carefully the numbers and positions of the French, 
the strength of their forts, the nature of their communications with 
Canada and with their various posts, and to endeavor to ascertain the 
real designs of the French in occupying the Ohio valley, and the proba- 

,^^^ ^- ^^ bilities of their 

bcmg vigorously 
supported from 
Canada. " Ye're 
a braw lad," said 
the governor, as 
he delivered his 
instructions to the 
young major, "and 
gin you play yoyr 
cards weel, my 
boy, ye shall hae 
nae cause to rue 
your bargain." 

Washington re- 
ceived his instruc- 
tions on the 30th of October, 1753, and on the same day set out for 
Winchester, then a frontier post, from which he proceeded to Wills' 
creek, where he Avas to cross the mountains. Having secured the ser- 
vices of Christopher Gist as guide, and of two interpreters, and four others, 
Washington set out on his journey about the middle of November. 
They crossed the mountains, and journeyed through an unbroken country, 
with no paths save the Indian trails to serve as guides, across rugged 
ravines, over steep hills, and across streams swollen with the recent rains, 
until in nine days they reached the point Avhere the Alleghany and 
Monongahela unite and form the Ohio. Washington carefully examined 
the place, and was greatly impressed M'ith the advantages offered for the 
location of a fort by the point of land at the junction of the two rivers. 




WASHINGTON S JOURNEY TO THE OHIO. 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 339 

The judgment expressed by him at the time was subsequently confirmed 
by the choice of this spot by the French for one of their most important 
posts — Fort Duquesne. 

Washington had been ordered by the governor to proceed direct to 
Loo-stown, where he was to hold an interview with the Delaware chief 
known as the Half King, to acquaint the Indians with the nature of his 
mission, and ascertain their disposition towards the English. While he 
^^as at this place he met several French deserters from the posts on the 
lower Ohio, who told him the location, number, and strength of the 
French posts between Quebec and New Orleans by way of the Wabash 
and the Maumee, and informed him of the intention of the French to 
occupy the Ohio from its head to its mouth with a similar chain of forts. 
The Half King confirmed the story of the deserters. He had heard that 
the French were coming with a strong force to drive the English out of 
the land. A " grand talk " was held with the chiefs in council by Wash- 
ington, and they answered him, by the Half King, that what he had said 
was true ; they were brothers, and would guard him on his way to the 
nearest French post. They wished neither the English nor the French 
to settle in their country ; but as tlie French were the first intruders they 
were willing to aid the English in their efforts to expel them. They 
agreed to break off friendly relations with the French ; but Washington, 
who knew the Indian character well, was not altogether satisfied with 
their promises. 

On the 30th of November he set out from Logstown with his compan- 
ions, attended by the Half King and three other Indians, and on the 4th 
arrived at the French post at Venango. The officer in command of this 
fort had no authority to receive his letter, and referred him to the Cheva- 
lier St. Pierre, the commander of the next post. They treated the 
English with courtesy, and invited Washington to sup with them. When 
the wine was passed around they drank deeply and soon lost their discre- 
tion. The sober and vigilant Washington noted their words with great 
attention, and recorded ih^m in his diary. " They told me," he writes, 
" that it was their absolute design to take possession of the Ohio, and, by 
G — d, they would do it; for, that although they were sensible the 
English could raise two men for their one, they knew their motions were 
too slow and dilatory to prevent any undertaking of theirs. They pre- 
tend to have an undoubted right to the river, from a discovery made by 
one La Salle sixty years ago ; and the rise of this expedition is to prevent 
our settling on the river or waters of it, as they heard of some families 
moving out in order thereto." The French officers then informed 
Washington of their strength south of the lakes, and of the number and 
location of their ])osts between Montreal and Venango. 



340 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The Frcncli exerted every stmtagcm to detach the Indians from Wash- 
in<i;t()u's party, and they met witli enough success to justify Washington's 
distrust oi" thi'iM. All had fonu' to th'liver uj) the Froiu-h sjH'och-holts, or, 
in otiuT words, to brealc oil" iVii'iidly relations with the French. The 
Delaware ehiets wavered and tailed to I'ullil their promise; "but the 
Halt" King elniig to Wiushington like a brother, anil tlelivered up his belt 
as he had promised." 

The party left Venango on the 7th of December, and reached Fort I^e 
Boeuf, the next post, on the 11 th. It wius a strong work, defended by 
cannon, and near by Washington saw a number of canoes and boats, and 
the materials for buililing others, sure indications that an exj>editiou 
down the river was about to be attempted. He obtained an interview 
with St. Pierre, the commander, an olUeer of experience and integrity, 

greatly beloved as well as i"eared by 
the Indians. He received the young 
envoy with cotirtesy, but refused to 
discuss questions of right witli him. 
" I am here," he said, " by the orders 
of my general, to which I shall con- 
form with exactness and resolution." 
On the 14th St. Pierre delivere<l to 
AVashingtou his answer to the letter of 
(jovcrnor Dinwi<ldic, and next day the 
jKirty set out on its return. They 
descended French creek in canoes, at 
no little risk, as the stream was full 
of ice. At Venango, which was 
reached on the 22d, they found their 
luM'ses, which were so feeble that it 
was doubtful whether they would be able to make the journey home. "I 
put mvself in an Indiiui walking-dress," says Washington, "and continued 
with them three days, until I found there was no possibility of their 
getting home in any reasonable time. The horses bec:ime less able to 
travel everv dav ; the cold increased very fast, anil the roads were becom- 
ing luMch woisi' bv a deej) snow contimially freezing; therefore, as I was 
nneasv to get back to make rei>ort of my procredings to his honor the 
gov(>rnor, 1 deternuned to prasccute my journey the neari*st way through 
the woods on foot." 

leaking (list as his only com]>anion, and <lirccting their way by the 
compass, Washington set out on the *i()th, by the nearest way across the 
country, for the heatl of the Ohio. The next day an Indian who had 





Tin: HAM" KiNi;. 



FKIJNCJr AND INDIAN WAIt. 



nil 



liiin in wait for tliciii fired ut Wa.sliln<r|,()n at a <lisfaiu!(', of only fiCtiieii 
htej).s, hut niiased liini, and wjw made a j)riKon(;r hy iiini. (iistwas anxiouH 
to kill the Havago on the HjMit, hut WaHliington would not allow tliiH, 
and th(!y k(!j)t the follow until dark, and then rclcascul him. They trav- 
(illcd all night and all the next <lay in order to mak<! Hure of eseaj)ing 
from the cuomicH they felt certain their freed captive woidd net uj)on 
tjjeir trail. 

At dark on the 28th th(;y reached the Alkighany, and Kjx'ut the 
night on the hanks of that Htream. The next morning they Hct to work 
with one poor hatchet to (jouHtruct a raft, on which to paHH the river, 
which was full of floating ice. 'I'lusy comf)letcd their raft about HuiiHct, 




WAHIlINfnoN AND OIHT CUOHSINO THE ALLKOII ANY. 

and launeh(!d it npf>n iJie Htn^am. It waH caught in tin; floating ice, and 
Wa.shington was hurled oil' into the water and n(;arly drowned. Unahle 
to reach the opposite shore, they made for an island in mid-stream, and 
passed th(! night th(!r(j. The cold was intense!, and (iist had all his fingers 
and several of his toes frozen. 'J'he next morning tin; river was a solid 
mass of ice, hard enough to bear their w<!ight. Th(y at onw crossed to 
the oj)posite bank and continued their journey, and on the lOth of 
Jamiary, 1754, were at Williamsburg, where Washingtx)n delivfin^d (o 
the governor of Virginia the reply of the French commander, and 
reported the results of his jriurney. 

'J'he French commander returned a courteous but evasive answer to 
Governor Dinwiddie's counnunication, and referred him for a definite 



342 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

settlement of the matter to the Marquis Duquesne, the governor of 
Canada. It was clear from the tone of his letter that he meant to hold 
on to the territory he had occupied, and the governor of Virginia was 
satisfied from Major Washington's report of his observations that St. 
Pierre was about to extend the line of French posts down the Ohio. 
The authorities of Virginia resolved to anticipate him, and in the spring 
of 1754 the Ohio Company sent a force of about forty men to build a 
fort at the head of the Ohio, on the site to which Washington had called 
attention. 

In the meantime, measures were set on foot in Virginia for the pro- 
tection of the frontiers. A regiment of troops was ordered to be raised, 
and it was the general wish that Major Washington should be appointed 
to the command. He declined the commission when tendered him, on 
the ground of his youth and inexperience, and was made lieutenant- 
colonel, the command of the regiment being conferred upon Colonel Joshua 
Fry. Washington was ordered to repair to the west to take charge of 
the defence of the frontiers, and in April, 1754, reached Wills' creek 
with three companies of his regiment. 

Just at this moment news arrived that the party sent to build a fort at 
the head of the Ohio had been driven away by the French. A force of 
one thousand men, with artillery, under Captain Coutrecoeur, had 
descended the Alleghany and had surrounded the English. One hour was 
given them to surrender, and being utterly unable to offer any resistance, 
they capitulated upon condition of being allowed to retire to Virginia. . 
Immediately upon the withdrawal of the English the French forces occu- 
pied the unfinished work, completed it, and named it Fort Duquesne. 
This was a more important act than either party believed it at the time. 
It was the beginning of the final struggle by which the power of France 
in America was broken. In the history of Europe this struggle is known 
as the Seven Ycars^ War ; in our own history as the French and Indian 
War. 

Hostilities were now inevitable, and Washington, who was on his 
march to the Ohio when the news of the aggression of the French was 
received, resolved to push forward without delay. Colonel Fry had 
fallen sicjc, and the direction of affairs on the border had passed entirely 
into the hands of the young lieutenant-colonel. He intended to proceed 
to the junction of Red Stone creek and the Monongahela, the site occu- 
pied by the present town of Brownsville, to erect a fort there, and hold 
it until he could be reinforced. His force was poorly provided with 
clothing and tents, and was deficient in military supplies of all kinds. 
The country to be traversed was a wild, unbroken region, without roads 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 343 

or bridges, and through it the artillery and wagons were to be trans- 
ported. The little force moved slowly and with difficulty, and Wash- 
ington pushed on in adv^ance with a small detachment, intending to secure 
the position on the Monongahela and await the arrival of the main body, 
when the whole force could descend the river in flat-boats to Fort 
Duquesne. 

On the 20th of May he reached the Youghiogheny and there received 
a message from his ally, the Half King, telling him that the French 
were in heavy force at Fort Duquesne. This report was confirmed at 
the Little Meadows by the traders, and by another message from the 
Half King on the 25th of May, warning Washington that a force of 
French and Indians had left Fort Duquesne on a secret expedition. 
Washington was sure that this expedition was destined to attack him, and 
advanced to the Great Meadows and took position there. On the morn- 
ing of the 27th Gist arrived and reported that he had seen the trail of 
the French within five miles of the Great Meadows. In the evening of 
the same day a runner came in from the Half King, and with a message 
that the French were close at hand. Taking with him forty men, 
Washington set off for the Half King's camp, and by a difficult night- 
march through a tangled forest in the midst of a driving rain, reached it 
about daylight. The runners of the Half King found the French en- 
camped in a deep glen not far distant, and it was decided to attack them 
at once. The Half King and his warriors placed themselves under 
Washington's orders, and the march was resumed towards the French 
camp. The French were surprised, and an action of about a quarter of 
an hour ensued. The French lost ten men killed, among whom was their 
commander, Jumonville, and twenty-one prisoners. This was the first 
blood shed on the American continent in the long struggle which won 
America for the free institutions of the Anglo-Saxon race. 

. Washington was very anxious to follow up the advantage he had 
gained, and had already appealed to the governors of Maryland and 
Pennsylvania for assistance, but no aid reached him. Unable to advance 
in the face of the rapidly increasing forces of the French, he threw up a 
stockade fort at Great Meadows, which he named Fort Necessity, from 
tha fact that the provisions of the troops were so nearly exhausted that 
the danger of a famine was imminent. On the 3d of July six hundred 
French and one hundred Indians suddenly appeared before the fort and 
occupied the hills surrounding it. The attacking party were able to 
shelter themselves behind trees and could command the fort from their 
safe position, while the English were greatly exposed, and it was evident 
to the most inexperienced that the fort was untenable. Nevertheless, the 



344 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

work was held for nine hours under a heavy fire, and amid the discom- 
forts of a severe rain-storm. At length De Villiers, the French com- 
mander, fearing that his ammunition would be exhausted, proposed a 
parley and offered terms to Washington. The English had lost thirty 
killed and the French but three. The terms of capitulation proposed by 
De Villiers were interpreted to Washington, who did not understand 
French, and in consequence of the interpretation, which was made by " a 
Dutchman little acquainted with the English tongue," Washington and 
his officers " were betrayed into a pledge which they would never have 
consented to give, and an act of moral suicide w^hich they could never 
have deliberately committed. They understood from Vanbraam's inter- 
pretation, that no fort was to be built beyond the mountains on lands be- 
longing to the King of France ; but the terms of the articles are, ' neither 
in this place nor beyond the mountains.'" The Virginians were allowed 
to march out of the fort with the honors of war, retaining their arms and 
all their stores, but leaving their artillery. This they did on the next 
morning, July 4th, 1754. The march across the mountains was rendered 
painful by the lack of provisions, and after much suiFering the troops 
arrived at Fort Cumberland in Maryland. Although the expedition had 
been unsuccessful, the conduct of Washington had been marked by so 
much prudence and good judgment that he received the thanks of the 
general assembly of Virginia. 

Governor Dinwiddle had already thrown many obstacles in the way of 
the defence of the colony, and he now refused to reward the provincial 
officers with the promotions they had so well earned. In order to avoid 
this he dissolved the Virginia regiment, and reorganized it into inde- 
pendent companies, no officer of which was to have a higher rank than 
that of captain. It was also ordered that officers holding commissions 
from the king should take precedence of those holding commissions from 
the colonial government. Washington, feeling that he could no longer 
remain in the service with self-respect, resigned his commission and with- 
drew to INIount Vernon. Soon afterguards Governor Sharpe, of ISEary- 
land, having been appointed by the king commander-in-chief of the forces 
of the southern colonies, proposed to Washington, through a friend, to 
return to the army and accept the rank of colonel, but with the actual 
authority of a captain. Washington declined the oiferwith characteristic 
dignity. " If you think me," he wrote, " capable of holding a commis- 
sion that has neither rank nor emolument annexed to it, you must main- 
tain a very contemptible opinion of my weakness, and believe me more 
empty than the commission itself." 

In the meantime, although peace still remained nominally unbroken 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



345 



between England and France, each nation was perfectly convinced of the 
certainty of a conflict in America, and each began to prepare for it. 
France sent large reinforcements to Canada, and the English went on 
rapidly with their plans for the conquest of that country. The British 
government was very anxious that the colonies should bear the brunt of 
the struggle, though it was fully determined to send a royal army to tiieir 
assistance, and urged upon them to unite in some plan for their common 
defence. 

For the purpose of carrying out the wishes of the home government a 
convention of delegates from seven of the colonies assembled at Albany, 
New York, on the 19th of June, 1754. " The Virginia government was 
represented by the presiding officer, Delancey, the lieutenant-governor 
of New York;" but New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, Connecticut, 
New York, and Maryland 
were represented by their 
own delegates. The first ob- 
ject of this convention was to # 
secure the friendship of the 
l^owerful confederacy of the 
Six Nations, on the northern 
border, and this was suc- 
cessfully accomplished. 

The leading man of this 
convention was Benjamin 
Franklin. He was a native 
of Boston, and the son of a 
tallow chandler. While still 
a youth he had removed to 
Philadelphia, and by the force of his own genius had risen from poverty 
and obscurity to great prominence among the public men of Pennsylva- 
nia, and the literary and scientific men of his day. He had chosen the 
avocation of a printer ; and by his industry, energy, and integrity had 
accumulated property enough to make him independent. He was 
among the most active men in America in promoting the advancement 
of literary, scientific, and benevolent institutions, and had already won a 
world-wide reputation by his discoveries in science, and especially by his 
investigations in electricity and lightning. He was not inexperienced in 
public affairs. He had served as clerk to the general assembly of Penn- 
sylvania, as postmaster of Philadelphia, as a member of the provincial 




BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 



346 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

♦ 

assembly of Pennsylvania, and in 1753 had been appointed by the king 

postmaster-general of the American colonies. lu each of these positions 
he had served with distinction, and now, at the ripe age of forty-eight, 
he had come to take part in the most important convention ever held in 
America. 

Franklin had long been of the opinion that the true interests of the 
colonies required their union in all measures relating to their common 
welfare. Believing that the force of circumstances would soon drive them 
into such a union, he sought to accomplish that end through the medium 
of this convention. Accordingly he presented to the convention a plan 
for the iniion of all the American colonies, which union he intended 
should be perpetual. He proposed that while each colony should retain 
the separate and independent control of its own affairs, all should unite 
in a perpetual union for the management of their general affairs. This 
confederacy was to be controlled by a general government to consist of a 
governor-general and a council. The scat of the federal government was to 
be Philadelphia, which city he regarded as central to all the colonies. The 
governor-general was to be appointed and paid by the king, and was to have 
the power of vetoing all laws which should seem tojiim objectionable. 
The members of the council were to be elected triennially by the colonial 
legislatures, and were to be apportioned among the colonies according to 
their respective population. " The governor-general was to nominate mili- 
tary officers, subject to the advice of the council, which, in turn, was to 
nominate all civil officers. No money was to be issued but by their joint 
order. Each colony was to retain its domestic constitution ; the federal 
government was to regulate all relations of peace or war with the In- 
dians, affairs of trade, and purchases of lands not within the bounds of 
particular colonies ; to establish, organize, and temporarily to govern new 
settlements ; to raise soldiers, and equip vessels of force on the seas, 
rivers, or lakes ; to make laws, and levy just and equal taxes. The 
grand council were to meet once a year to chose their own speaker, and 
neither to be dissolved nor prorogued, nor continue sitting longer than 
six weeks at any one time, but by their own consent." 

This plan met with considerable opposition, was thoroughly discussed, 
and was finally adopted by the convention. It was not altogether accept- 
able to the colonies, each of which dreaded that the estal)lishment of a 
central government would result in the destruction of tlie liberties of the 
individual provinces. Connecticut promptly rejected it. New York re- 
ceived it with coldness, and Massachusetts showed a more active opposition 
to it. Upon its reception in England it was at once thrown aside by the 
royal government. The union proposed by the plan was too perfect, and 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 347 

would make America practically independent of Great Britain, and so 
the board of trade did not even bring it before the notice of the king. 

Franklin regarded the failure of his plan of union with great regret. 
In after years he wrote : " The colonies so united would have been suffi- 
ciently strong to defend themselves. There would then have been no 
need of troops from England ; of course the subsequent pretext for tax- 
ing America, and the bloody contest it occasioned, would have been 
avoided. But such mistakes are not new ; history is full of the errors of 
states and princes." 

The plan for the union of the colonies having failed, the British gov- 
ernment resolved to take into its own hands the task of carrying on the 
war, with such assistance as the colonies might be willing to aftbrd. A 
million of pounds was voted for the defence of the British possessions in 
America, and four strong fleets were sent to sea, together with numerous 
privateers, which nearly destroyed the French West Indian trade. In 
1755 Major-General Edward Braddock was appointed commander-in- 
chief of the Eng-lish forces in America. He had served under the Duke 
of Cumberland, in his expedition into Scotland against the Pretender 
Charles Edward, in 1746, and was regarded as one of the most promising 
officers in his majesty's service. Braddock sailed from Cork, in Ireland, 
early in January, 1755, and on the 20th of February arrived at Alex- 
andria, in Virginia. He was soon followed by two regiments of infantry, 
consisting of five hundred men each, the largest force of regulars Great 
Britain had ever assembled in America. 

A conference of the colonial governors with the new commander-in- 
chief was held at Alexandria, and a plan of campaign was decided upon. 
Four expeditions were to be despatched against the French. The first, 
under Braddock in person, was to advance upon Fort Duquesne; the 
second, under Governor Shirley of Massachusetts, was to attempt the 
capture of Fort Niagara ; the third, under William John, the Indian 
agent among the Mohawks, and a man of great influence over them, was 
to be directed against Crown Point ; and the fourth was to capture the 
French posts near the head of the Bay of Fundy, and expel the French 
from Acadia. 

It was now evident that the war was about to commence in good 
earnest, and the colonies exerted themselves to support the efforts of the 
mother country to the extent of their ability. 

General Braddock was thoroughly proficient in the theory of his pro- 
fession, but his experience of actual warfare had been limited to a single 
campaign, and that a brief one. He possessed the entire confidence of 
his superiors in England, and his faith in himself was boundless. He 



348 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



believed that the regulars of the British army were capable of accom- 
plishing any task assigned them, and entertained a thorough contempt for 
the provincial troops that were to form a part of his command. Soon 
after his arrival in Virginia he offered "Wiishington a position on his staff 
as aid-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, which was promptly accepted. 

Had General Braddock been a difierent man the presence of Washington 
in his military family might have been of the greatest service to him, for 
the experience of tiie young colonel would have made him an invaluable 
counsellor. Braddock was in a strange country, and was charged with 




wills' ckeek nakrows, md. 



the conduct of a campaign in which the ordinary rules of warfare as 
practised in Europe could not be adhered to. He knew nothing of the 
difficulties of marching his army through a tangled wilderness and over 
a mountain range of the first magnitude. Unfortunatelv for him he was 
not aware of his ignorance, and would neither ask for nor listen to advice 
or information upon the subject. " He was, I think, a brave man," says 
Franklin, "and might jirobably have made a figure as a good officer in 
some European war. But he had too nuich self-confidence, too liigh an 
opinion of the validity of regular troops, and too mean a one of both 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 349 

Americans and Indians." During one of his interviews with him Frank- 
lin undertook to impress upon him the necessity of guarding against the 
danger of Indian ambuscades. "He smiled at my ignorance," says 
Franklin, and replied: 'These savages may indeed be a formidable 
enemy to your raw American militia ; but upon the king's regular and 
disciplined troops, sir, it is impossible they should make any impres- 
sion.'" 

The aripy assembled at Wills' creek, to which place General Braddock 
repaired in his coach. The bad roads had put him in a passion, and had 
broken his coach, and he was in no mood upon his arrival to pursue a 
sensible course. He was advised to employ Indians as scouts on the 
march, or to use them to protect a force of Pennsylvanians who were 
making a road over the mountains for the passage of the army, but he 
refused to do either. Washington urged him to abandon his wagon-train, 
to use pack-horses in place of these vehicles, and to move with as little 
baggage as possible. Braddock ridiculed this suggestion. Neither he 
nor any of his officers would consent to be separated from their cumbrous 
baggage, or to dispense with any of the luxuries they had been used to. 

A month was lost at AVills' creek, and in June the army began its 
march. It was greatly impeded by the difficulty of dragging the wagons 
and artillery over roads filled with the stumps of trees and with rocks. 
Such little progress was made that Braddock, greatly disheartened, pri- 
vately asked Washington to advise him what to do. As it was known 
that the garrison at Fort Duquesne was small, Washington advised him 
to hasten forward with a division of the army in light marching order, 
and seize the fort before reinforcements could arrive from Canada. Brad- 
dock accordingly detached a division of twelve hundred men and ten 
pieces of cannon, with a train of pack-horses to carry the baggage, and 
pushed on in advance with them, leaving Colonel Dunbar to bring up 
the main division as promptly as possible. A famous hunter and Indian- 
fighter named Captain Jack, who was regarded as the most experienced 
man in savage warfare in the colonies, now offered his services and those 
of his men to Braddock to act as scouts. Braddock received him with 
frigid courtesy, and refused his offer, saying that he "had experienced 
troops upon whom he could rely for all purposes." 

Instead of pushing on with energy with his advance division, Braddock 
moved very slowly, gaining but a little more than three miles a day. 
"They halt," wrote Washington, "to level every mole hill and to erect 
a bridge over every brook." On the 8th of July the army reached the 
east bank of the Monongahela, about fifteen miles above Fort Duquesne, 
having taken about double the necessary time in the march from Wills' 



350 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

creek. On the same day, Washington, who had been ill for some days, 
and was still unwell, rejoined Braddock. 

Early on the morning of the 9th of July the march was resumed. 
The Monongahela was forded a short distance below the mouth of the 
Youghiogheny, and the advance continued along the southern bank of 
that river. About noon the Monongahela was forded again, and the 
army was planted upon the strip of land between the rivers which form 
the Ohio. Washington was well convinced that the French apd Indians 
were informed of the movements of the army, and would seek to interfere 
with it before its arrival before the fort, which was only ten miles distant, 
and urged Braddock to throw in advance the Virginia Rangers, three 
hundred strong, as they were experienced Indian fighters. Braddock 
angrily rebuked his aide, and as if to make the rebuke more pointed, 
ordered the Virginia troops and other provincials to take position in the 
rear of the regulars. The general was fully convinced of the ability of 
his trained troops to take care of themselves. They made a gallant show 
as they marched along with their gay uniforms, their burnished arms and 
flying colors, and their drums beating a lively march. Washington 
could not repress his admiration at the brilliant sight, nor his anxiety for 
the result. 

In the meantime the French at Fort Duquesne had been informed by 
their scouts of Braddock's movements, and had resolved to ambuscade 
him on his march. Early on the morning of the 9th a force of about 
two hundred and thirty French and Canadians and six hundred and 
thirty-seven Indians, under De Beaujeu, the commandant at Fort 
Duquesne, was despatched with orders to occupy a designated spot and 
attack the enemy upon their approach. Before reaching it, about two 
o'clock in the afternoon, they encountered the advanced force of the 
English army, under Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Gage, and at once 
attacked them with spirit. 

The English army at this moment was moving along a narrow road 
about twelve feet in width, with scarcely a scout thrown out in advance 
or .upon the flanks. The engineer who was locating the road was the 
first to discover the enemy, and called out " French and Indians ! " 
Instantly a heavy fire was opened upon Gage's force, and his indecision 
allowed the French and Indians to seize a commanding ridge, from which 
they maintained their attack with spirit. There, concealed among the 
trees, they were almost invisible to the English, who were fully exposed 
to their fire,* as they occupied a broad ravine, covered with low shrubs, 
immediately below the eminence held by the French. 

The regulars were quickly thrown into confusion by the heavy fire and 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



351 



the fierce yells of the Indians, who could nowhere be seen, and their 
losses were so severe and sudden that they became panic-stricken. They 
were ordered to charge up the hill and drive the French from their cover, 
but refused to move, and in their terror fired at random into the woods. 
In the meantime the Indians were rapidly spreading along the sides of 
the ravine and continuing their fire from their cover among the trees 
with fearful accuracy. The advance of the English was driven back, and 
it crowded upon the second division in utter disorder. A reinforcement 
of eight hundred men under Colonel Burton arrived at this moment, but 
only to add to the confusion. The French pushed their lines forward 
now and increased the disorder of the English, who had by this time lost 
nearly all their officers. Braddock now came up, and gallantly exerted 
himself to restore order, but " the king's regulars and disciplined troops" 
were so utterly demoralized that not one of his commands was obeyed. 

The only semblance of resistance maintained by the English was by 
the Virginia Rangers, whom Braddock had insulted at the beginning of 
the day's march. 
Immediately upon 
the commencement 
of the battle they 
had adopted the 
tactics of the In- 
dians, and had 
thrown themselves 
behind trees, from 
which shelter they 
were rapidly pick- 
ing off the Indians. 
Washington entreated Braddock to allow the regulars to follow the 
example of the Virginians, but he refused, and stubbornly endeavored to 
form them in platoons under the fatal fire that was being poured upon 
them by their hidden assailants. Thus through his obstinacy many 
useful lives were needlessly thrown away. The officers did not share the 
panic of the men, but behaved with the greatest gallantry. They were 
the especial marks of the Indian sharpshooters, and many of them were 
killed or wounded. Two of Braddock's aides were seriously wounded, 
and their duties devolved upon Washington in addition to his own. He 
passed repeatedly over the field carrying the orders of the commander 
and encouraging the men. When sent to bring up the artillery, he found 
it surrounded by Indians, its commander. Sir Peter Halket, killed, and 
the men standing helpless from fear. Springing from his horse he 




braddock's defeat. 



352 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



appealed to tlie men to save the guns, pointed a field piece and discharged 
it at the savages, and entreated the gunners to rally. He could accom- 
plish nothing by either his words or example. The men deserted the 
guns and fled. In a letter to his brother, Washington wrote : " I had 
four bullets through my coat, two horses shot under me, yet escaped 
unhurt, though death was levelling my companions on every side 
around me." * 

Braddock had five horses shot under him, and at length himself 

received a mortal 
wound. As he fell. 
Captain Stewart, of 
the Virginia troops, 
caught him in his 
arms. He was borne 
from the field, though 
he begged to be left 
to die on the scene 
of his defeat. His 
fall was fortunate for 
the army, which it 
saved from destruc- 
tion. The order was 
given to fall back, 
and the " regulars 
fled like sheep before 
the hounds." The 
French and Indians 
pressed forward in 
pursuit, and all would 
have been lost had 
not the Virginia 
Rangers themselves 
been in the rear, and 
covered the fligiit of 
the regulars with a 
determination which checked the pursuers. The artillery, wagons, and 
all the camp train were abandoned, and the savages, stopping to plunder 
these, allowed the fugitives to recross the river in safety. 

* Washington attributed hia wonderful escape from even a wound to the overruling 
providence of God. The Indiana regarded the matter in the same light. About fifteen 
years after the battle, while examining some lands near the mouth of the Great Kanawha 




KETREAT OF BRADDOCK's ARMY. 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 353 

Having seen the general as comfortable as circumstances would permit, 
Washington rode all that night and the next day to Dunbar's camp to 
procure wagons for the wounded and soldiers to guard them. With 
these he hastened back to the fugitives. 

Braddock, unable to ride or to endure the jolting of a wagon, was 
carried in a litter as far as the Great Meadows. He seemed to be heart- 
broken and rarely spoke. Occasionally he would say, as if speaking to 
himself, with a deep sigh, " Who would have thought it ? " It is said 
that he warmly thanked Captain Stewart for his care and kindness, and 
apologized to Washington for the manner in which he had received his 
advice. He had no wish to live, and he died at Fort Necessity on the 
night of the 13th of July. He was buried the next morning before 
daybreak as secretly as possible for fear that the savages might find and 
violate his grave. Close by the national road, about a mile west of Fort 
Necessity, a pile of stones still marks his resting-place. 

The losses of the English in the battle were terrible. Out of eighty- 
six officers, twenty-six were killed and thirty-six wounded. Upward of 
seven hundred of the regulars were killed or wounded. The Virginia 
Rangers had suifered terrible losses, for they had not only borne the 
brunt of the battle, but had lost many of their number by the random 
fire of the frightened regulars. Dunbar, who succeeded Braddock in the 
command, still had fifteen hundred effective men left to him ; but he was 
too badly frightened to attempt to retrieve the disaster, which a compe- 
tent officer might have done with such a force. He broke up his camp, 
destroyed his stores, and retreated beyond the mountains. Disregarding 
the entreaties of the colonists not to leave the frontiers exposed to the 
savages, he continued his retreat to Philadelphia, and went into winter 
quarters there. 

The effect of these reverses upon the colonists was most marked. 
When they understood that Braddock's splendid force of disciplined 
regulars had been routed by a mere handful of French and Indians, their 
respect for the invincibility of British troops was destroyed ; and their 
confidence in their own prowess was greatly increased by the proud 
reflection that the only thing that had been done to save the army of 
Braddock from total destruction had been accomplished by the provin- 

river, Washington was visited by an old chief. The chief told him " he wa.s present at the 
battle, and among the Indian allies of the French ; that he singled him out, and repeatedly 
fired his rifle at him ; that he also ordered his young warriors to make him their only 
mark ; but that on finding all their bullets turned aside by some invisible and inscrutable 
interposition, he was convinced that the hero at whom he had so often and so truly aimed 
must be, for some wise purpose, specially protected by the Great Spirit. He now came, 
therefore,. to testify his veneration." 
23 



354 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



cials. Washington's conduct was a subject of praise in all the colonies, 
and brought his name conspicuously before the whole people of America. 
In a sermon preached a few months after Braddock's defeat, the Rev. 
Samuel Davies, a learned clergyman, spoke of him as " that heroic youth, 
Colonel Washington, whom I cannot but hope Providence has hitherto 
preserved in so signal a manner for some important service to his 
country." 

The retreat of Dunbar left the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania 
at the mercy of the savages, who maintained a desultory but destructive 
warfare along the entire border. The defence of this exposed region was 




BURNING OF KITTANNING BY GENEKAL ARMSTKONG. 



intrusted to Colonel Washington ; but he had so few men as to make his 
undertaking a hopeless one. The frontier settlements of Virginia were 
destroyed; the beautiful valley of the Shenandoah was ravaged with 
merciless fury, and the more protected regions were kept in a state of 
constant uneasiness and alarm. Governor Dinwiddle was repeatedly 
appealed to to furnish more men, but refused, and endeavored to excuse 
his delinquency by saying : " We dare not part with any of our white 
men to any distance, as we must have a watchful eye over our negro 
slaves." 

Pennsylvania met the troubles with greater vigor and resolution. 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 355 

About thirty miles above Fort Duquesne, on the Alleghany river, was 
the Indian village of Kittanning, the home of a noted chief named 
Captain Jacobs. Together with the Delaware chief Shingis, he had, at 
the instigation of the French, kept up a continual warfare upon the 
frontier settlements. A military force for the defence of the frontier was 
raised by the colony and placed under the command of Benjamin Frank- 
lin as colonel. He soon resigned, and was succeeded by Colonel John 
Armstrong, a man better suited to the position, and who subsequently 
became a major-general in the war of the Revolution. Armstrong 
resolved to destroy Kittanning and the tribe inhabiting it as the best 
means of putting a stop to their outrages, and called for volunteers for 
the enterprise. Three hundred men responded. Towards the last of 
September, 1756, they crossed the mountains on horseback, and in a few 
days reached the vicinity of Kittanning. Dismounting and leaving their 
horses in charge of a guard, they silently surrounded the village. The 
Indians spent the night in carousing within hearing of the whites, and 
retired to rest at a very late hour. Just before daybreak the whites 
attacked the village and set it on fire. It was completely destroyed, and 
Jacobs and all but a handful of his men were slain. The few survivors 
fled farther west, and the Pennsylvania frontier was relieved of the suffer- 
ings it had so long endured. » 





CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR — CONTINUED. 

Expedition against Acadia — Brutal Treatment of the Acadians — They are Expelled from 
their Country — A Sad Story — Fate of the Acadians — Johnson at Lake George — March 
of Dieskau — Battle of Lake George — Failure of Shirley's Expedition — Arrival of the 
Earl of Loudon — Montcalm in Canada — Capture of Oswego by the French — Outrages 
of the Earl of Loudon upon New York and Philadelphia — Expedition against Louis- 
burg — How the Earl of Loudon Beat the French — Capture of Fort William Henry by 
Montcalm — Massacre of the Prisoners by the Indians — Efforts of Montcalm to save them 
— The Royal Officers attempt to cover their Failures by outraging the Colonies. 

I HILE the events we have related were transpiring in the Ohio 
valley other expeditions were despatched against the French. 
One of these was directed against that part of Acadia, or Nova 
Scotia, which still remained in the hands of the French. It lay 
at the head of the Bay of Fundy, and was defended by two 
French forts. This region was the oldest French colony in North 
America, having been settled sixteen years before the landing of the Pil- 
grims, but was regarded by the English as within their jurisdiction. In 
May, 1755, an expedition of three thousand New England troops was 
despatched from Boston, under Colonel John Winslow, to attack these 
forts and establish the English authority over the French settlements. 
Upon reaching the Bay of Fundy Winslow was joined by three hundred 
English regulars under Colonel Monckton, who assumed the command. 
The forts were taken with comparatively little effort, and the authority 
of England was extended over the whole of Nova Scotia. The Acadians 
agreed to acknowledge the authority of their new masters, and to observe 
a strict neutrality between France and England in the war; and the 
English on their part promised not to require of them the usual oaths of 
allegiance, to excuse them from bearing arms against France, and to pro- 
tect them in the exercise of the Catholic religion. 

The Acadians numbered about seventeen thousand souls. They were 
a simple and harmless people, and were enjoying in a marked degree the 
blessings of industry and thrift. They had begun their settlements by 
depending upon the fur-trade and the fisheries for their support, but had 
abandoned these pursuits for that of agriculture, which was already 
356 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 357 

yielding them rich rewards for their skill and labor. They were proud 
of their farms and took but little interest in public affairs, scarcely know- 
ing what was transpiring in the world around them. It is hard to 
imagine a more peaceful or a happier community than this one at the 
time they passed under the baleful rule of England. Crime was unknown 
among them, and they seldom carried their disputes before the English 
magistrates, but settled them by the arbitration of their old men. They 
encouraged early marriages as the best means of preserving the morality 
of their people ; and when a young man married, his neighbors turned 
out in force and built him a house, and for the first year of his marriage 
aided him to establish himself firmly, while the bride's relatives helped 
her to furnish the home thus prepared. Thus the people were taught to 
regard and practise neighborly kindness as one of the cardinal Christian 
virtues. They were devoted Catholics, and practised their religion with- 
out bigotry. They were attached to the rule of France by language and 
religion, and would have been glad to see her authority re-established 
over them ; but they submitted peacefully to the rule of the English and 
faithfully observed the terms of their surrender. 

Unfortunately for the Acadians their possessions soon began to excite 
the envy of the English. Lawrence, the governor of Nova Scotia, ex- 
pressed this feeling in his letter to Lord Halifax, the English premier. 
" They possess the best and largest tract of land in this province," he 
wrote ; " if they refuse the oaths, it would be much better that they were 
away." The English authorities had prepared a cunningly devised 
scheme for dispossessing these simple people of their homes, and they 
now proceeded to put it in execution. The usual oaths of allegiance had 
not been tendered to the Acadians upon their surrender, as it was known 
that as Frenchmen and Catholics they could not take them, as they 
required them to bear arms against their own brethren in Canada, and to 
make war upon their religion. It was resolved now to offer the oaths to 
them, and thus either drive them into rebellion or force them to abandon 
their homes. When this intention was known, the priests urged them to 
refuse the oaths. " Better surrender your meadows to the sea," they de- 
clared, " and your houses to the flames, than, at the peril of your souls, 
take the oath of allegiance to the British government." As for the 
Acadians themselves, " they, from their very simplicity and anxious sin- 
cerity, were uncertain in their resolves ; now gathering courage to flee 
beyond the isthmus, for other homes in New France, and now yearning 
for their own houses and fields, their herds and pastures." 

The officers sent by the English authorities to enforce their demands 
conducted themselves with a haughtiness and cruelty which added greatly 



358 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

to the sorrows of the Acadians. Their titles to their lands were declared 
null and void, and all their papers and title-deeds were taken from them. 
Their property was taken for the public service without compensation, 
and if they failed to furnish wood at the times required, the English 
soldiers " might take their houses for fuel." Their guns were seized, and 
they were deprived of their boats on the pretext that they might be used 
to communicate with the French in Canada. At last, wearied out with 
these oppressions, the Acadians offered to swear allegiance to Great 
Britain. This, however, formed no part of the plan of their persecutors, 
and they were answered, that by a British statute persons who had been 
once offered the oaths, and who had refused them, could not be permitted 
to take them, but must be treated as Popish recusants. 

This brought matters to a crisis, and the English now resolved to strike 
the decisive blow. A proclamation was issue<l, requiring " the old men, 
and young men, as well as all lads over ten years of age," to assemble on 
the 5th of September, 1 755, at a certain hour, at designated places in 
their respective districts, to hear the "wishes of the king." In the 
greater number of places the order was obeyed. What happened at the 
village of Grand Pr^, the principal settlement, will show the course pur- 
sued by the English in all the districts. Four hundred and eighteen of 
the men of the place assembled. They were unarmed, and were marched 
into the church, which was securely guarded. Winslow, the New England 
commander, then addressed them as follows : " You are convened together 
to manifest to you his majesty's final resolution to the French inhabitants 
of this his province. Your lands and tenements, cattle of all kinds, and 
live stock of all sorts, are forfeited to the crown, and you yourselves are 
to be removed from this his province. I am, through his majesty's 
goodness, directed to allow you liberty to carry off your money and house- 
hold goods, as many as you can, without discommoding the vessels you 
go in." He then declared them, together with their wives and children, 
a total of nineteen hundred and twenty-three souls, the king's prisoners. 
The announcement took the unfortunate men by surprise, and filled them 
with the deepest indignation ; but they were unarmed, and unable to re- 
sist. They were held close prisoners in the church, and their homes, 
which they had left in the morning full of hope, were to see them no 
more. They were kept without food for themselves or their children 
that day, and were poorly fed during the remainder of their captivitv. 
They were held in confinement until the 10th of September, when it was 
announced that the vessels were in readiness to carry them away. Tliey 
were not to be allowed to join their brethren in Canada lest they should 
serve as a reinforcement to the French in that province, but were to be 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 359 

scattered as paupers through the English colonies, among people of 
another race and a different faith. 

On the morning of the 10th, the captives were drawn up six deep. 
The English, intending to make their trial as bitter and as painful as 
possible, had resolved upon the barbarous measure of separating the 
families of their victims. The young men and boys were driven at the 
point of the bayonet from the church to the ship and compelled to em- 
bark. They passed amid the rows of their mothers and sisters, who, 
kneeling, prayed heaven to bless and keep them. Then the fathers and 
husbands were forced by the bayonet on board of another ship, and as the 
vessels were now full, the women and children were left behind until 
more ships could come for them. They were kept for weeks near the 
sea, sujffering greatly from lack of proper shelter and food, and it was 
December before the last of them were removed. Those who tried to 
escape were ruthlessly shot down by the sentinels. " Our soldiers hate 
them," wrote an English officer, " and if they can but find a pretext to 
kill them they will." 

In some of the settlements the designs of the English were suspected 
and the proclamation was not heeded. Some of the people fled to 
Canada ; others sought shelter with the Indians, who received them with 
kindness ; others still fled to the woods, hoping to hide there till the 
storm was over. The English at once proceeded to lay waste their 
homes ; the country was made desolate in order that the fugitives might 
be compelled through starvation to surrender themselves. 

Seven thousand Acadians were torn from their homes and scattered 
among the English colonies on the Atlantic coast, from New Hampshire 
to Georgia. Families were utterly broken up, never to be re-united. 
The colonial newspapers for many years were filled with mournful adver- 
tisements, inquiring for a lost husband or wife; parents sought their 
missing children, and children their parents in this way. But of all 
these inquiries few were answered. The exiles were doomed to a parting 
worse than death, and their captors had done their work so well that 
human ingenuity could not undo it. Some of those who had been carried 
to Georgia attempted to return to their homes. They escaped to sea in 
boats, and coasted from point to point northward, until they reached New 
England, when they were sternly ordered back. Their homes were their 
own no longer. 

More than three thousand Acadians fled to Canada, and of these about 
fifteen hundred settled south of the Ristigouche, Upon the surrender of 
Canada they were again subjected to the persecutions of the English. 
" Once tliose who dwelt in Pennsylvania presented a humble petition to 



360 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the Earl of Loudon, then the British commander-in-chief in America ; 
and the cold-hearted peer, offended that the prayer was made in French, 
seized their five principal men, who in their own land had been persons 
of dignity and substance, and shipped them to England, with the request 
that they might be kept from ever again becoming troublesome by being 
consigned to service as common sailors on board ships of war. No doubt 
existed of the king's approbation. The lords of trade, more merciless 
than the savages and than the wilderness in winter, wished very much 
that every one of the Acadians should be driven out ; and when it seemed 




SCENE ON THE COLORADO. 

that the work was done, congratulated the king that 'the zealous endeavors 
of Lawrence had been crowned with an entire success.' I know not if 
the annals of the human race keep the record of sorrows so wantonly in- 
flicted, so bitter and so perennial, as fell upon the French inhabitants of 
Acadia. * We have been true,' they said of themselves, ' to our religion, 
and true to ourselves; yet nature appears to consider us only as the ob- 
jects of public vengeance.' The hand of the English official seemed 
under a spell M'ith regard to them ; and was never uplifted but to curse 
them." * 

* Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. iv., p. 206. 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 36l 

While these sorrows were being heaped upon the helpless Acadians by 
England the provincial forces were serving the cause elsewhere with 
more credit to their manhood. As has been stated the expedition against 
the French fort at Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, had been intrusted 
to General William Johnson. His army consisted principally of troops 
from Massachusetts and Connecticut. They were joined at Albany by a 
regiment from New Hampshire. The troops rendezvoused at the head 
of boat navigation, on the Hudson, in July, 1755, under the command 
of General Lyman. They numbered about six thousand men. A fort 
was built and named by the troops, in honor of their commander. Fort 
Lyman. In August Johnson arrived with the stores and artillery, and 
assumed the command of the expedition. He ungenerously changed the 
name of the fort to Fort Edward. Leaving a strong force to garrison it 
he moved with five thousand men to the head of Lake George, from 
which he intended to descend the lake in boats. 

The French had been informed of Johnson's movements by their 
scouts. Baron Dieskau, the governor of Canada, placed the entire arms- 
bearing population of the Montreal district in the field, and resolved to 
prevent Johnson from reaching Crown Point by attacking him in his own 
country. With a force of two hundred French regulars, and about 
one thousand two hundred Indians, he set out across the country to attack 
Fort Edward. Upon arriving in the vicinity of the fort the Indians 
learned that it was defended by artillery, of which they were greatly 
afraid, and refused to attack it. Dieskau was, therefore, compelled to 
change his plan, and resolved to strike a blow at Johnson's camp, which 
he was informed was without cannon. 

In the meantime the scouts of the English had detected the movement 
against Fort Edward. Ignorant of the change in Dieskau's plans John- 
son sent a force of one thousand men, under Colonel Ephraim Williams 
of Massachusetts, and two hundred Mohawks, under their famous chief 
Hendrick, to the relief of the fort. Their march was reported to the 
French, who placed themselves in ambush along the road they were pur- 
suing, and attacked them as soon as they had fairly entered the defile. 
The English were at once thrown into confusion. Hendrick was shot 
down at the first fire, and Williams fell a few moments later. The Eng- 
lish and Mohawks then began a rapid retreat to their camp, closely 
pursued by their assailants. 

The sound of the firing was soon heard in Johnson's camp, and as it 
drew nearer it became apparent that the detachment was retreating. The 
troops were gotten under arms, and the trees in front of the camp were 
hurriedly felled to form a rude breastwork. A few cannon had just 



362 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

arrived from the Hudson, and these were placed to command the road 
by which the French were approaching. These arrangements were just 
completed when the fugitives of Williams' command appeared in full 
retreat, with the French and Indians but a few hundred yards behind 
them. Dieskau urged his men forward with the greatest energy, intend- 
ing to force his way into the English camp along with the fugitives. 
The artillery was carefully trained upon the road by which he was 
advancing, and the moment the fugitives were past the guns they opened 
with a terrific fire of grape, which caused the Canadians and Indians to 
break in confusion, and take to the woods for shelter. The regulars held 
their ground, and maintained a determined contest of five hours, in which 
they were nearly all slain. The Indians and Canadians did little execu- 
tion, as they stood in dread of the artillery. At length Dieskau, seeing 
that his effort had failed, drew off his men, and retreated. He was pur- 
sued for some distance by the English. Towards evening he was sud- 
denly attacked by the New Hampshire regiment, which was marching 
from Fort Edward to Johnson's assistance. The French were seized 
with a panic at this new attack, and abandoning their brave commander, 
fled for their lives. Dieskau, who had been severely wounded several 
times, was taken prisoner. He was kindly treated, and was subsequently 
sent to England, where he died. 

General Johnson was slightly wounded at the commencement of the 
battle, and withdrew from the field, leaving the command to General 
Lyman, to whom the victory was really due. Notwithstanding this John- 
son did net even mention Lyman's name in his report of the battle, but 
claimed all the honor for himself. He was rewarded by the king with a 
baronetcy, and the gift of twenty-five thousand dollars. General Lyman 
was not even thanked for his services. 

Johnson made no effort to improve his victory. The expedition 
against Crown Point, which might now have been undertaken with a 
better prospect of success, Avas abandoned, and Johnson contented him- 
self with building a useless log fort at the head of Lake George, which 
he named Fort William Henry. Late in the fall he placed a garrison in 
this fort, and then returned to Albany, where he disbanded his army. 

The expedition under Governor Shirley, against Fort Niagara, was 
equally unsuccessful. By the month of August Shirley had advanced 
no farther than Oswego. Here he received the news of Braddock's 
defeat, which so disheartened him that, after building and garrisoning two 
forts at Oswego, he returned to Albany. By the death of Braddock 
Shirley succeeded to the chief command of all the royal forces in 
America. 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 363 

In December, 1755, Shirley held a conference with the colonial gov- 
ernors, at New York, to decide upon the campaign for the next year. It 
was agreed that three expeditions should be undertaken in 1756 : one 
against Niagara ; a second against Fort Duquesne, and a third against 
Crown Point. In the meantime Lord Loudon was appointed by the 
king commander-in-chief of the forces in America. He sent over Gen- 
eral Abercrombie as his lieutenant. Abercrombie arrived in June with 
several regiments of British regulars. He relieved General Shirley from 
command, but nothing was to be done until the arrival of the comman- 
der-in-chief, who did not reach America until July. 

Lord Loudon was a more pompous and a slower man than Braddock, 
and more incompetent. A force of seven thousand men was assembled 
at Albany for the expedition against Ticonderdga and Crown Point, and 
Loudon at once repaired thither, and assumed the command. The col- 
onists were confident that something of importance would now be accom- 
plished ; but they were destined to disappointment. The commander-in- 
chief and his subordinates spent their time in settling the relative rank 
of the royal and provincial officers. Notwithstanding the fact that all 
that had been accomplished during the war had been gained by the colo- 
nial forces, there was an iniquitous regulation which gave the precedence 
to the lowest officer holding a royal commission over one holding a higher 
rank from any of the colonies. This led to many disputes, and the 
colonists saw themselves robbed of the honors they had so fairly won. 
This was only one of the many wrongs by which Great Britain succeeded 
in alienating the people of America from their attachment to her. 

In the meantime Dieskau had been succeeded as governor of Canada 
by the Marquis de Montcalm, the ablest of the rulers of New France. 
He was a man of genuine ability and of indomitable energy. He 
reached Quebec in 1756, and at once set out for Ticonderoga, which he 
placed in a state of defence. Perceiving the exposed condition of the 
English forts at Oswego he resolved to capture them. Collecting a force 
of five thousand Frenchmen, Canadians, and Indians, he crossed the lake 
from Frontenac, and reached Oswego on the 5th of August. He soon 
drove the English out of Fort Oswego ; but Fort Ontario, the second 
work, opposed a more vigorous resistance to him. The garrison held out 
until their commander. Colonel Mercer, was killed, and they had lost all 
hope of receiving aid from Albany, when they capitulated. An immense 
amount of military stores, one hundred and thirty-five pieces of cannon, 
and all the boats and vessels Shirley had prepared for the expedition 
against Niagara fell into the hands of Montcalm. The Iroquois had 
viewed the erection of the forts at Oswego by the English with great 



364 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

jealousy, and in order to conciliate them Montcalm wisely destroyed the 
works, and withdrew into Canada. 

Loudon had detached a force under Colonel Webb to the assistance of 
the Oswego forts, but it was sent so late that it was met on the way by 
the news of the capture of the forts. Colonel Webb, in dismay, fell back 
rapidly, and obstructed the road to Albany. 

Having failed to accomplish anything against the enemy Lord Loudon 
now undertook to subjugate the colonies of New York and Pennsylvania. 
He was firmly convinced that the colonists needed to be taught submis- 
sion to the will of the royal commander, and as he had been made a sort 
of viceroy of all the colonies, he thought the present a fitting occasion to 
teach them this lesson. He demanded of the cities of Albany, New 
York, and Philadelphia free quarters for his troops during the winter. 
The mayor of New York refused the demand " as contrary to the laws 
of England and the liberties of America." " G — d d — n my blood," said 
the viceroy to the mayor ; " if you do not billet my officers upon free 
quarters this day, I'll order here all the troops in North America under 
my command, and billet them myself upon the city." There was no 
reasoning with " the master of twenty legions," and the magistrates were 
obliged to get up a subscription for the free support, during the winter, of 
an army that had passed a whole campaign without coming in sight of 
the enemy. In Philadelphia the matter was settled very much in the 
same way. Albany was also obliged to submit, but the magistrates took 
occasion to tell the royal officers that they did not Avant their services, as 
they could defend their frontiers themselves. "The frontier was left 
open to the French ; this quartering troops in the principal towns, at the 
expense of the inhabitants, by the illegal authority of a military chief, 
was the great result of the campaign." It was becoming clear to the 
colonists that their safety from the depredations of the French and sav- 
ages was not to be gained by the royal troops, but by their own efforts. 

A congress of governors was held at Boston in January, 1757, and it 
was resolved that there should be but one expedition this year, and that 
this should be sent under the Earl of Loudon against Louisburg. The 
frontier posts, especially Forts Edward and William Henry, were to be 
defended, and Washington, with the Virginia troops, was to guard the 
border of that colony against the expeditions of the French from Fort 
Duquesne. The last was a difficult and almost impossible duty, for the 
French from Fort Duquesne could choose their point of attack any- 
where on the long and exposed frontier, while the force under Washing- 
ton was utterly inadequate to the task of watching the entire line. 

Leaving Bouquet to guard the frontier of Carolina against the Chero- 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



365 



kees, and Webb to hold the country between Lake George and the 
Hudson, Lord Loudon, on the 20th of June, 1757, sailed from New 
York with six thousand regulars to attack Louisburg. He proceeded to 
Halifax, where he was joined by a fleet of eleven ships of war and four 
thousand troops, bringing his whole force to ten thousand regulars and 
sixteen ships of the line and a number of frigates. The campaign of this 
redoubtable warrior is thus described by Bancroft: "He landed (at 
Halifax), levelled the uneven ground for a parade, planted a vegetable 




SITE OF FORT WILLIAM HEURY ON LAKE GEORGE. 

garden as a precaution against the scurvy, exercised the men in mock 
battles and sieges and stormings of fortresses, and when August came, 
and the spirit of the army was broken, and Hay, a major-general, 
expressed contempt so loudly as to be arrested, the troops were embarked, 
as if for Louisburg. But ere the ships sailed, the reconnoitring vessels 
came with the news that the French at Cape Breton had one more ship 
than the English, and the plan of campaign was changed. Part of 
the soldiers landed again at Halifax, and the Earl of Loudon, leaving 



366 JU/iTOJlY OF THE UMTKl) STATUS, 

JiIm }j;anl<M (<> (Im! wrcdn, nii<l liis jtlii<c of minH to IdiiirH, hjiilcd lor 
Mew York. 

'I'lic M)ii(|iiiH of MouU'iiliii wiiH 11 very <lilU rml, iiuui I'ntiii IIm' Vmv\ u\' 
JiOiidoii. Ah u iniiii li«i wiiM HU|Hii'i<ir U) liim In vwvy Wiiy ; uh u com- 
iiiaiidrr lut wiiN iiclivo, (|iiicl<, uiid r<>H«>liit(> ; wliilr Loudon wuh iii<'oiii|i(!- 
t(!iit, hIow, iukI |ioiii|toiiH. MoiitiiiliM liiul Hliitioiic.d liiiiiHi'lf ill Ti<'OMd(!ropi 
ill order (o Ixi nhic lo wiitrli (Ik- Jsn^lihli, iind he n'H(»lvcd to tidu; udviiii- 
lii|^(^ of Lord LoikIom'h nl)Hciir<^ to iillurk l<'orL W'illiatii Henry ul llio 
lii'iid ol" I iiilv(! (leorj^e. ( )n llic lid ol" Aiij;ii,sl ln' ii|»|i<;in(l licruic (lie (oit 
Willi a f'urre of al)oiil nIx llioiiMiiiid l''i'i'iicli and ( 'anadiaiis and HcVfiilrcii 
liiiii<lr*'d liidiaiiM, and laid Hi<'|!;<' to il. 'riic |.>;arrls(iii roMHisIr*! of alxaiL 
lliK'c lli<>ii.>i:iiid nan, iiiidii' ( uloliel Monroe, a (.lallani oHici r. MdiiIcmIiii 
Hiiininonrd liini to Huncndt-r lli<- fori, lait Monroe returned an iiidi;^nanl 
reluMid t(» tliJH deniaial, and nent to (i(;neral W'elilie, at l<'ort I'Mward, 
lilleen niilcH diMlanl, to ^|^^k (or aHHiMtauee. AV<'1)1m! niijjjlit t^anily liavo 
Haved lla! Tort, an \\v had i'our thousand men under Iiih eoininand, latt lie 
inad(^ no eiliirt to do ho. Colonel I'utnani, al'lerwardn laiiKaiH in llie 
Iveyolution, eaf<;erly Hou^lit^ and at lant reeeive<l perininHion to nuir<-lt M'illi 
luH regiment to Monroe'M iiHHiHtanee, lail lie li:id ))roeeeded only a few 
niilcH when Wehhe eoniniauded him to return to l'\)rt I'dward. In the 
|»la<'e of aHHiHianee, the timid \\ elilie (hen hcnl to Monroe a letter j^rcnlly 
exaggi'rating the ll»ree ol" the P'reneh, mid ud\i.^ill^■ him to Hlirreiider. 
'riuM letter wiim inlereepted \\\ Monl<-:din, who wan on the |Miint of riiisin^ 
the Hiej;e, and he (iu'warth'd il to Moiiioe, willi a renewed demand I'nr his 
Hiii'render. 'J'he bnive veteran held oul, however, niilil ii<:irly all his 
guuH were diHalilt*(i and hi.M ainmunilion nearly exhanst<'d. \\v. then 
llun^^ (Mil a \\n^ of trnee, and Monlealni, who wan too true it lu'ro not to 
iippreeiate valor in u fo<', grantt'd him liberal teriuH. The pirrinon wero 
allo\\e«l to nuireh out with the honors of war u|>(ai ^'ivin^^ their parole 
not to Herv«' againnt !•' ranee for <'ij;hte<'n JiiontliH. Tla-y were to retain 
their private property, an«l were to liherati- all their priwaiern. On the 
t>lh of Au^■nHt the foil, was .snireiitlered lo the P'reiieli. 

Monlealm had kept the Havap,'eH fnan licpaa- in order to Ix! ahle to 
reHlrain ihein in the hour of vietory. They now HoUj^ht and obtained 
mm from ihe Mn^dish, and spent llie ni;.dil in danein^' and Hinginjj^. 'I'ha 
next niianinn', as the I'lnj^lish marehed out of their (-ain|), the Indians fell 
Upon them and bej;an to plunder them. I''rom roblu-ry, the <\eile<l 
Havagcw Moon pansed to murder, and many of the Knglish were killed and 
otluTM nuah' prisoners. 'J'he l-'reiah ollici'rs threw themselves into llu! 
nule<« and exerteil tlu>mselvi's j-allantly to e(M>trol the Indians. Many of 
them were wouiulcd iu theao ellbrt«. MonU-abn in un agony implored 



J'lllCNCJl ANJ> INDIAN WAR. .^07 

till! IiMliiiiiH U> r<!H|«'rl, jJiffi tniiiLy. " Kill me," \\f <*ri('<l, iih Ii<! Hl.ni^/jil(Ml 
Ui n-Hlniiii (Ik* hhviij^ch, " Ixil. Mpun! (Jut Mii^;liHli, wli<» nn- iui<lcr my |>r<>- 
ifi'iU)\\." Il(;c)ill)-«l Ut IJk! lOn^liHJi Hol<li(ti'H UMlui'oiKJ lliCliiHi;lv<!H. TIm) 
rclrciil, I.O l'"orl. M<lvvur«l l)<'«!iim<' ii <liMonl<'rly (II^IiL Only iihoiil. nix 
liilii<lr<-.(l iiK'ii n-a<tlic<l iJnn; in ii hody. Mon: lliitii i<)iir iiiiiHln-d liiul 
Hoilfijlit Mliitll/*!!' in iJic {''rrnrli rump, jukI wt'.Vit Hcnl, l»y M<»nl«:iilm lo (lujir 
Ti'if'ndH iin<l<-r t.li*; |»i'ul,4;(-l,ion of ii Hl.i'on^<; <!H«'<m'L 1I<'. uIho Hcnt one oC IiIm 
olIicci'H U) nuiHoiii llioHd who lm<l IxMtn tuUcn jx'iHdiKWH l>y Ui<! IndinnH. 
'J'Imj v»iMt M(y<)r(!H iw!<!iimiilHU;<l at Fort Williiuii Jloiiry wvm cnrr'nui away 
l>y (Jic i*'r(;n«-li, luiil tJi«; work il>M;li' di^moIiHlwd. 

'J'lir l(>HH of l''(>rl, William Henry ^r<;ally fVi^^hliiicd (iiik ral W<l»l»<; at 
Fori, JO<iward. Jn H\t\U', of liin fonto of nix lliouHund m<!ii, and IIk; wilJi* 
drawal of t/lic J*V<;n('Ji to Lako (/liam|dain, li<t H<rionHly c^fnl^cmplalful ii 
r<!tn',at Ut Ix-yond Alhany. I>ord I^oikIoii, who hud arriviid at New 
Yorl<, WJiH <!(jnally impn-Hwd with tin; ilanj^cr, and j)ropoH<'(l to tako 
{(OHJtion with hiH army on lion^^ inland for thr ditlrniM; of the C/OtitiiKiiit. 

Tin; <!amj»ai)/;n waH over, and tli<! {•'n*n«h wcr<! (;v<'rywln'n; triumphant. 
With tint <x«('j»lion of A<'adia, t.luy held all the (country they luui o«;«;ii- 
pifd at the lH>|/;iiinin^ of IJk; war. 'i'lii; lOn^liHJi luul lont tho forf^ at 
Ohwcj^mj and William Henry, and imm<"nM<Mpiiinlitich of nupplicM. They 
liad l>«;<;fi <;ntii(ly expelled i'rom tin; valleyn of the Ohio and the Kt. 
JjiiwrtrnvA',, and the hoHtih; parti(;H of th(; IndiariH were eiiahhtd lo cxiiiiiU 
their rava^/jen Car into tin; int<!rior of th<* eolonien. 

America wan thoroughly di«gUH(^;d with the ineompel/eney and <m>w- 
ardicx; of the royal <'omman<lerH. Tluf old Hpell of HritlMh iiiviiU'Jhility 
waM broken, and tli<! <5oloniM<H wcv, rapidly lowiiij^ their renpeet for tho 
troojiM M(!nt over from lOnj^land Ut proU;et theifi. Men were <!omin^ U) 
the eonehiHion that tlntir e,onneet,ion with (in^at Hritain waH Himply a 
curwj to the eoloiii<»». They regarded the, <!oii(hiet of tin; war thiiH far \)y 
the royal oHieialH hh Himj)ly "a mixture of ij.niorane(; and eowaniie^;," und 
wer<! HaliMfie.d that they were, amply ahle to defeu'l (hemMelvew (i|rainMt iJk* 
Kreneh and IndiauH without any aHMiHUin<!(! wliatever from Mnj/l.-md. 

'J'he royal oIli^MalM Hou^rht l/O <!OVer their failun'H hy eompluintM aj/;ainMt 
the Am<!ri«;anH. 'Jin; hearty dinj^utit an<i eonlempt with whieh the coji)- 
iuhIh re^arde<l their pUHillanimouH eonduet waH reporte,d \>y them lo fhe 
home f^ovrrnmeiit jw evidenei; of a nnitinoiiH Hpirit on lh<; part of the 
AmerieaiiH. 'Ihrouj^hout the f^>loni<!H they purnued one, uni/orm MyMUmi 
of Mwkln^ to forcxj tho proviiieeM into Huhmi««ion to their own iilcf^ul «M!(m, 
and to <^>mpe| (Ijitm U) an aeknowled^ment of the arbitrary power of the 
crown. *' 10 very when;/' nayn Jtaneroft, " th<! royal oni(«;r« a<;tively 
UMHcrted the authority of the king und the JiritiMJi nation over Anicrieu, 



368 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Did the increase of population lead the legislatures to enlarge the repre- 
sentative body ? The right to do so was denied, and representation was 
held to be a privilege conceded by the king as a boon, and limited by his 
will. Did the British commander believe that the French colonies 
through the neutral islands derived provisions from the continent? By 
his own authority he proclaimed an embargo in every American port. 
Did South Carolina, by its assembly, institute an artillery company? 
Lyttleton interposed his veto, for there should be no company formed 
but by the regal commission. By another act, the same assembly made 
provision for quartering soldiers, introducing into the law the declaratory 
clause, that ' no soldier should ever be billeted among them.' This also 
Lyttleton negatived ; and but for the conciliatory good temper of 
Bouquet, who commanded at Charleston, the province would have been 
inflamed by the peremptory order which came from Loudon to grant 
billets under the act of Parliament." * 

In the eyes of Great Britain America was merely an out-of-the-way 
corner of the world which existed by the bounty of England, and which 
was entitled to no rights, no privileges save what the king in his goodness 
should see fit to allow its people ; and in theory and practice every royal 
official, from the viceroy down to the most insignificant government clerk, 
arrogated to himself the power of oppression which he claimed for th'e 
sovereign. 

* Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. iv., p. 270. 




CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR CONCLUDED. 

A Change for the Better — William Pitt Prime Minister — Vigorous Measures Adopted — 
Recall of the Earl of Loudon — Capture of Louisburg — Abercrombie on Lake George — 
Advances against Ticonderoga — Death of Lord Howe — Failure of the English attack 
upon Ticonderoga — Disgraceful conduct of Abercrombie — His Retreat — Capture of 
Fort Frontenac — Advance of General Forbes — Grant's Defeat — The Virginians again 
save the Regulars — Capture of Fort Duquesne — Washington retires from the Army — 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point occupied by the English — Capture of Fort Niagara — 
The Expedition against Quebec — Failure of the first Operations — Despondency of 
Wolfe — He Discovers a Landing-place — The Army scales the Heights of Abraham — 
Montcalm's Surprise — Battle of the Plains of Abraham — Death of Wolfe — Defeat of 
the French — Death of Montcalm — Surrender of Quebec — Capture of Montreal — Treaty 
of Paris — Canada ceded to England — France loses all her American Possessions — The 
Cherokee War — Hostility of the Indians to the English — Pontiac's War — Death of 
Pontiac — Bouquet relieves Fort Duquesne — Results of the War. 

Z)Vl| HE gross mismanagement of affairs in America aroused a storm 
e-lli of indignation in England, and the king was obliged to yield to 
j^^ the popular sentiment, and change his ministers. At the head 
C^^ of the new ministry he placed William Pitt, the leader of the 
popular party, who was destined to become one of the greatest 
of English statesmen. His great talents had raised him from the insig- 
nificant position of ensign in the guards to the leadership of the govern- 
ment of Great Britain, and were now to be the means of retrieving the 
disasters of his country, and regaining for her her lost power and 
prestige. 

A truly great man, Pitt knew how to admire and sympathize with 
merit in others, and was not blinded by the glitter of rank, nor ham- 
pered by an aristocratic faith in the divinity of royalty. He appreciated 
and sympathized with the Americans more perfectly than any of his pre- 
decessors in office, and began his career with the wise determination to 
encourage and develop their patriotism by a generous and systematic 
assistance of their efforts. He caused the government of Great Britain 
to assume the expenses of the war, and announced that the suras ex- 
pended by the colonies for the public defence, since the commencement of 
hostilities, would be refunded, and that henceforth the British goveru- 
24 369 



370 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ment would provide the funds for the prosecution of the war. The 
colonies were each required to furnish troops, but Pitt " stipulated that 
the colonial troops raised for this purpose should be supplied with arras, 
ammunition, tents, and provisions, in the same manner as the regular 
troops, and at the king's expense; so that the only charge to the colonies 
would be that of levying, clothing, and paying the men. The governors 
were also authorized to issue commissions to provincial officers, from 
colonels downwards, and these officers were to hold rank in the united 
army according to their commissions. Had this liberal and just system 
been adopted at the outset, it would have put a very different face upon 
the affairs of the colonies." * These energetic and just measures were 
promptly responded to by the colonies, which placed a force of twenty- 
eight thousand men in the field. To these Pitt added twenty-two thou- 
sand British regulars, making a total of fifty thousand men, the largest 
army that had ever been assembled in America, and exceeding in num- 
ber the entire male population of Canada. 

The Earl of Loudon was recalled, and instead of a single supreme 
command three separate expeditions were organized under different 
officers. An expedition against Louisburg was i)laced under the orders 
of Lord Jeffrey Amherst, an able and upright soldier, assisted by Briga- 
dier-General James AVolfe ; who, though only thirty-one years old, had 
spent eighteen years in the army, and had served at Dettingen, Fontenoy, 
and Laffeldt. He was considered one of the ablest commanders in the 
English service, and Avas universallv beloved. To General Forbes the 
task of conquering the Ohio valley was assigned; and the expedition 
against Ticonderoy-a and Crown Point was intrusted to General Aber- 
erombie. Pitt had little faith in Abcrcrombie, who had been Lord 
Loudon's most trusted lieutenant ; but retained him to please Lord Bute, 
and associated with him, as his second in commantl, the young and gifted 
Lord George Howe, in the hope that Howe's genius would redeem Aber- 
crombie's faults, and lead him to victory. 

The expedition against Louisburg consisted of a fleet of twenty ships 
of the line and eighteen frigates, under Admiral Boscawen, and an army 
of fourteen thousand men, under General Amherst. The fleet reached 
Cabarus bay on the 2d of June, 1758. The fortifications of Louisburg 
were somewhat dilapidated, but Mere held by a garrison of thirty-two 
hundred men, commanded by Chevalier Drucour, an officer of expe- 
rience and determination. These frigates were sunk across the mouth of 
the harbor to close it against the English, and within the basin lay five 

* Sparks' WrUinga of Washington, vol. ii., i>. 2S0 — Xote. 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



371 



ships of the line, one fifty-gun ship, and two frigates, which took part in 
the defence of the place. 

The surf was so heavy that Amherst was unable to land his troops 
until the 8th. The first division was led by Wolfe, under the cover of 
the fire of the fleet. He forbade a gun to be fired from his command, 
and, upon nearing the shore, leaped into the water, followed by his men, 
and in the face of a sharp resistance, drove the French from their outposts 
into the town. The place was now regularly invested, and, after a bom- 
bardment of fifty days, during which the shipping in the harbor was 
destroyed, the town and fortifications were surrendered to the English 
on the 27th of July. With Louisburg the French gave up the islands 
of Cape Breton and Prince Edward. Five thousand prisoners and an 
immense quantity of military supplies were secured by the English. 
Halifax being already the chief naval station of the English in these 
waters, Louisburg 
was abandoned. 
Amherst, Wolfe, and 
Boscawen were hon- 
ored by the English 
government for 
their victory. The 
season was too far 
advanced after the 
capture of Louis- 
burg to admit of the 
commencement of 
operations against Quebec, and Amherst was suddenly called away from 
the coast to take charge of the army on Lake George. 

Abercrombie had assembled a force of seven thousand English regulars 
and nine thousand Americans at the head of Lake George. Among the 
American troops were Stark and Putnam, afterwards famous in the war 
for independence, the former serving as a captain in the New Hampshire 
regiment, the latter as a major of Connecticut troops. Abercrombie was 
commander-in-chief, but the troops had little confidence in him. They 
were devoted to Lord Howe, who was the real leader of the expedition. 
On the 5th of July the army broke up its camp, and embarking in ten 
hundred and thirty-five boats, with the artillery on rafts, descended the 
lake to its lower end, from which they were to advance overland upon 
Fort Carillon, which the French had erected on the promontory of 
Ticonderoga. The next morning Lord Howe pushed forward with the 
advanced guard, and encountered a scouting party of the French. A 



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WOLFE S ATTACK ON LOUISBURG. 



372 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



sharp conflict ensued. The French were easily driven back, but Lord 
Howe was killed almost at the first fire. His death cast a gloom over 
the army, which promised ill for the success of the undertaking. 

Abercrombie continued to advance, and on the morning of the 9th 
sent Clerk, his chief engineer, to reconnoitre the French position at Ticon- 
deroga. Clerk reported that the French works were feeble, and imper- 
fectly armed. Stark, of New Hampshire, and some of the English 
officers saw that they were both strong and well provided with artillery. 
They so reported to Abercrombie, but he accepted the statement of his 
engineer, and, without waiting for his artillery, ordered an assault upon 
the French lines that very day. 

The Marquis of Montcalm was commanding in person at Ticonderoga, 




ABERCROMBIE's expedition on lake GEORGE. 



and had disposed his small force of thirty-six hundred and fifty men in 
a line of breastworks thrown up about half a mile beyond the fort, and 
extending across the promontory on which that work stood. The death 
of Lord Howe had deprived the English of their only leader capable of 
contending against this accomplished commander, and the incompetency 
of Abercrombie was to render easy what might have been, under other 
circumstances, a most difficult undertaking. 

Abercrombie could have brought up his artillery by the next day, but 
he was unwilling to wait for it, as he anticipated an easy victory. He 
stationed himself in a place of safety about two miles from the field, and 
ordered his troops to assail the French intrench ments with the bayonet. 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



373 



The attack was made in gallant style, and was continued with energy 
during the afternoon. The English performed prodigies of valor, but 
were not able to overcome the strength of the French works, or the 
activity with which the defenders maintained their position. Unlike the 
English commander, Montcalm was everywhere along his line, cheering 
his men with his presence and example, and distributing refreshments to 
them with his own hands. Without a commander who dared place him- 
self under fire, with no one on the spot to direct their movements, the 
valor of the English was thrown away. A volley from an advanced 
party of their own men completed their confusion, and they broke help- 
lessly, and fell back in disorder towards Lake George. Abercrombie 
made no effort to rally them ; he was too badly frightened for that ; and 




ATTACK ON TICONDEROGA. 



led the army towards the landing-place, on Lake George, with such haste 
that but for the energetic action of Colonel Bradstreet the troops would 
have rushed pell-mell into the boats, without any semblance of order, and 
with a still greater loss of life. 

The English lost nearly two thousand men in the attack upon the 
French works ; but they still had left a force of more than four times the 
strength of the French, and their artillery had not been engaged. With 
this force they might have taken Ticonderoga, but Abercrombie was too 
much terrified to attempt anything of the kind. On the morning of the 
9th he embarked his troops and hastened to the head of Lake George. 
Montcalm was astounded at his retreat, but as he had too small a force, 
and his men were exhausted, he made no effort at pursuit. Arrived at 
the head of Lake George, the frightened Abercrombie sent the artillery 



374 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 



and ammunition back to Albany for safety, and occupied his army vvith 
the erection of Fort George, near the ruins of Fort William Henry. 
The news of this disaster caused General Amherst to hasten with four 
regiments and a battalion from Louisburg to Lake George. He reached 
the camp of Abercrombie on the 5th of October. In November orders 
arrived from England appointing Amherst commander-in-chief of the 
royal forces in America, and recalling Abercrombie, who returned to 
England to attempt to excuse his cowardice by villifying America and 
the Americans. He could not deceive Pitt, however, whose indignation 
at his pusillanimous conduct was only restrained by. the influence of Lord 
Bute in the royal councils. 

After Abercrombie's retreat, Colonel Bradstreet, of New York, at his 
earnest solicitation, obtained leave from the council of w'ar to undertake 
an expedition against Fort Frontenac, wdiich being situated at the foot of 
Lake Ontario, commanded both the lake and the St. Lawrence. Its pos- 
session was of the highest importance to the French, as it was their main 

depot for the supply 
of the posts on the 
upper lakes and the 
Ohio with military 
stores. Collecting a 
force of 2700 men, 
all Americans, con- 
sisting chiefly of 
troops from New 
York and IMassachu- 
setts, Bradstreet 
hastened to Oswego 
before his movements were known to the enemy. From Oswego he 
crossed the lake in open boats, and landed on the Canada side within a 
mile of Fort Frontenac. His sudden arrival struck terror to the garri- 
son, and the greater part secured their safety by an instantaneous flight. 
The next day the fort surrendered. The victors captured with it a vast 
quantity of military stores destined for the forts in the interior, and a 
fleet of nine armed vessels, with which the French controlled the lake. 
Two of the vessels were laden with a part of the stores and sent to Os- 
w^ego, aud the remainder of the vessels and stores, together Avith the fort, 
were destroyed. The English then recrosscd the lake to Oswego. The 
capture of Fort Frontenac Mas an event of great importance, as it led, as 
Ave shall see further on, to the abandonment by the French of their posts 
in the vallev of the Ohio. 




IXA'ESTMEXT OF FORT FRONTENAC. 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 375 

For the reduction of Fort Duquesne a force of seven thousand men 
was assembled under General Forbes. Of these, five thousand were from 
Pennsylvania and Virginia, the troops from the latter colony being under 
the command of Colonel Washington. The Pennsylvania troops assem- 
bled at Raystown, on the Juniata, and the Virginians at Fort Cumber- 
land. Washington urged upon Forbes the advantages of adopting the 
old road cut by Braddock's army in his advance to the Ohio, but Forbes, 
at the suggestion of some land-speculators, decided to construct a new 
and a better road farther to the north. As regarded the future settlement 
of the west this was an excellent plan, but as far as it concerned the 
immediate object of the campaign it was a mistake, as it involved a large 
expenditure of labor and a great waste of time. 

While this road was being constructed General Bouquet, with the ad- 
vanced guard, crossed Laurel Hill and established a post at Loyal Hanna. 
The new road progressed very slowly, only forty-five miles being con- 
structed in six weeks. Bouquet had with him a force of about two 
thousand men, chiefly Highlanders and Virginians. Learning from his 
scouts that Fort Duquesne was held by a garrison of only eight hundred 
men, of whom three hundred were Indians, Bouquet, without orders 
from General Forbes, resolved to attempt the capture of the fort by a 
sudden blow. He detached a force of eight hundred Highlanders, and a 
company of Virginians, under JNIajor Grant, to reconnoitre Fort Duquesne. 
The French were fully informed of all of Grant's movements, but thev 
allowed him to approach unmolested, intending to disarm his vigilance 
and then attack him. Grant affected the usual contempt for the provin- 
cial troops, and upon arriving before the fort, placed Major Lewis with 
the Virginians to guard the baggage, and sent his regulars forward to 
reconnoitre and make a sketch of the work. He was greatly encouraged 
by the fact that the French allowed him to approach without firing a gun 
at him, and in his self-complacency marched right into an ambuscade 
which the enemy had prepared for him. The French commander had 
posted the Indians along the sides of the defile by which Grant was ad- 
vancing, and at a given signal the garrison made a sudden sally from the 
fort against the Highlanders, while the Indians opened a heavy fire upon 
them from their place of concealment. The regulars were quickly thrown 
into confusion, and their officers were found incapable of conducting such 
a mode of warfare. Attracted by the firing, Major Lewis, with a com-*^ 
pany of Virginians, hastened to the scene of the encounter, and by 
engaging the enemy hand-to-hand enabled the regulars to save themselves 
from a general massacre. The detachment was routed with heavy loss, 
and both Grant and Lewis were taken prisoners. The fugitives retreated 



376 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

to the point where the baggage had been left. It was guarded by Captain 
Bullit, whom Lewis had left there with one company of Virginians. By 
the gallant and skilful resistance of this little force the French and 
Indians were checked, and finally driven back in confusion. The English 
then continued their retreat with all speed to Loyal Hanna. Again the 
provincials had saved the regulars from total destruction. General 
Forbes had the magnanimity to acknowledge and compliment the Vir- 
ginians for their services, and Captain Bullit was promoted to the rank 
of major. 

General Forbes was greatly disheartened by the news of Grant's disas- 
ter. A council of war was called to deliberate upon the future operations 
of the army, and decided that as it was now November, and they were 
still fifty miles from Fort Duquesne, with an unbroken forest between 
them and the fort, nothing more could be accomplished until the spring. 
The enterprise was on the point of being abandoned when fortunately 
three prisoners were brought in, from whom Washington drew the 
information that the garrison of Fort Duquesne was reduced to a very 
small force, that the Indians had all deserted the French, and that the 
expected reinforcements and supplies from Canada had not arrived. It 
was evident that a well-executed efibrt would result in the capture of 
the fort. 

This information decided General Forbes to continue the expedition. 
A force of twenty-five hundred picked troops was placed under "Wash- 
ington's command, and he was ordered to push forward as rapidly as 
possible, and prepare the road for the advance of the main army. 
AVashington was ably seconded in his movements by the energetic Arm- 
strong, and the march was pressed with such vigor that in ten days the 
army arrived in the vicinity of Fort Duquesne. The French now saw 
that the fall of the fort was inevitable. They had but five hundred men, 
and Bradstreet's capture of Fort Frontenac had cut them off from the 
reinforcements and supplies they had expected from Canada. Unwilling 
to stand a siege, the result of Avhich was certain, thev abandoned the 
fort on the night of the 24th of November, and embarking in flat boats, 
floated down the Ohio to join their countrymen in the valley of the 
INIississippi. On tlie 25th the English army arrived before the fort, and, 
finding it deserted and in ruins, occupied it. At the universal desire of 
the army Forbes named the place Fort Pitt, which has since been changed 
to Pittsburgh. The splendid city Avhich occupies the site is the proudest 
monument that has been built to the memory of the "Great Commoner." 

Two regiments, composed of Pennsylvanians, Virginians, and Mary- 
landers, under Mercer, were left to garrison Fort Pitt, which was restored 




377 



378 BISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

to its former strength. General Forbes then returned east of the moun- 
tains, and "Washington resigned his commission and retired to private 
life. The object of the campaign was accomplished, and he could now 
enjoy the rest to which five years of constant service had entitled him. 

The capture of Fort Duquesne was the most important event of the 
war. It put an end to the French occupation of the valley of the Ohio, 
and settled the claim of Great Britain to that valuable region. The 
Indians, having no longer the support and encouragement which they 
had derived from the French at this post, ceased their hostile efforts, and 
during the remainder of the war the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsyl- 
vania were at peace. The capture of the fort was followed by a large 
emigration west of the mountains, which, beginning the next spring, soon 
jjlaced a large and energetic po[)ulation of Englishmen and their families 
in the valley of the Ohio. The Indians, disheartened by the defeat of 
the French, began to form treaties of peace or neutrality with the 
English. 

Washington's services in this campaign were acknowledged with j^ridc 
throughout the colonies, but the British government took no notice of 
them. Not even Pitt, with all his appreciation of America, thought it 
worth while to offer him any promotion or reward, as had been .done in 
the case of other meritorious provincial commanders. Soon after his 
withdrawal from the army he took his seat in the house of burgesses, to 
which he had been elected. That body ordered its speaker to publicly 
thank Colonel Washington in the name of the house and of the people of 
Virginia for his services to liis country. The speaker discharged this 
duty with ease and dignity, but when AVashington attemj)ted to reply he 
blushed and stammered, and was unable to speak a word. The speaker 
relieved his confusion by coming to his assistance with the kind remark, 
" Sit down, Mr. Washington ; your modesty equals your valor, and that 
surpasses the power of any language I possess." 

The English cause was now more successful than it had ever been, and 
Canada was exliausted by the efforts she had put forth for her defence. 
This was clear to INIontcalm, who had no hope of holding Xcw France 
against the attacks of Great Britain, and it was also clear to the far-seeing 
mind of Pitt. The British minister, therefore, rocdved that the next 
camj)aign should be decisive of the war. He ])roni[)tly reimbursed the 
colonies for the expenses incurred In- them during the past year, and 
found no difficulty in enlisting th(;m heartily in his sf'liemes. Three 
expeditions were ordered for the year 1759. Amherst was to advance 
by way of Lake Champlain, and after capturing Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point, was to lay siege to Montreal ; Wolfe was to ascend the St. I^aw- 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



379 



rence and attack Quebec, and was to be joined by Amherst if the latter 
should be successful in his efforts against Montreal ; and General Prideaux 
was to proceed by way of Oswego to capture Fort Niagara, and then 
descend Lake Ontario and join Amherst at Montreal. 

Amherst moved promptly against Ticonderoga, which post was aban- 
doned by the French upon his approach. Crown Point fell into his 
hands in the same manner, but here the advance of the Eue:lish was 
stayed. No boats had been provided to transport the army down Lake 
Champlain, and Amherst was forced to halt until these could be procured. 




RUINS OF FORT TICONDEROGA. 



He was thus unable to invest Montreal, or to cooperate with AVolfe in 
the movement against Quebec. 

General Prideaux began his march to Oswego about the same time, 
and proceeding from Oswego laid siege to Fort Niagara. He was killed 
by the bursting of a gun soon after the commencement of the siege, and 
the command devolved upon Sir William Johnson, who pressed the attack 
with vigor. On the 23d of July, 1758, the fort capitulated; but John- 
son was obliged to abandon the attempt to descend the St. Lawrence to 
Wolfe's assistance from a lack of boats and provisions. 



380 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The expedition against Quebec assembled in June, 1758, at Louisburg, 
under tlie command' of General Wolfe. It consisted of eight thousand 
troops and a fleet of twenty-two ships of the line, besides frigates and 
some smaller vessels. On the 26th of June the Isle of Orleans was 
reached, and the troops were immediately landed. A short distance up 
the river Quebec rose defiantly, its seemingly impregnable citadel of St. 
Louis crowning the lofty clitfs that rose from the river's brink. For the 
defence of the place Montcalm had six greatly reduced battalions of 
regulars and a force of Canadian militia. A few Indians remained 
faithful to him ; but the majority of the tribes, doubtful of the issue of 
the contest, preferred to remain neutral. The French commander, seeing 
the inferiority of his force to that of the English, put his trust cliiefly in 
the natural strength of his position, which he believed would enable him 
to hold it even with his small force. 

The situation of Quebec was peculiar. It lay on a peninsula, between 
the river St. Charles on the north and the St. Lawrence on the south and 
east. On these sides it was perfectly protected by the river, leaving the 
west side alone exposed. Tiie lower town was situated on the beach, while 
the upper stood on the cliiis two hundred feet above the water, and above 
tliis still rose the castle of St. Louis. Above the city the high promon- 
tory on which the upper town was built stretched away for several miles 
in an elevated plain, and from the river to this plain the rocks rose 
almost perpendicularly. Every landing-place wiis carefully guarded, and 
the whole range of cliffs seemed bristling with cannon. The French 
commander did not believe it possible for an army to scale these cliffs. 
]\Iontcalm located his camp below the city, between the St. Charles and 
the Montmorenci rivers, and covered the river front of his position with 
many floating batteries and ships of war. 

The naval superiority of the English at once gave them the command 
of the river. The French were driven from Point Levi, opposite the 
city, and upon it Wolfe erected batteries, from which he bombarded the 
lower town and soon laid it in ashes. The upper town and the citadel 
were beyond the range of his guns, and could not be injured by this fire. 

Wolfe now decided to storm the French camp on the opposite side of 
the St. Lawrence, and in the month of July attacked them from the 
direction of the ]Montmorenci, but owing to the haste of the first division, 
which advanced to the assault before it could be proy)erly supported by 
the second, the , attack was repulsed with a loss of five hundred men. 
This repulse greatly disheartened the English commander, whose sensitive 
spirit suffered keenly under the dread that his enterprise was doomed to 
failure. He obtained news of the capture of Fort Niagara and the occu- 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR, 



381 



pation of Ticomleroga and Crown Point, and eagerly watched for the 
approach of the promised assistance from Amherst. It never came, and 
Wolfe saw that he must take Quebec by his own efforts or not at all. 
He attempted several diversions above the city in the hope of drawing 
Montcalm from his intrenchments into the open field, but the latter 
merely sent De Bougainville with fifteen hundred men to watch the 
shore above Quebec and prevent a landing. Wolfe fell into a fever, 
caused by his 
anxiety, and his 
despatches to his 
government cre- 
ated the gravest 
uneasiness in 
England for the 
success of his 
enterprise. 

Though ill, 
Wolfe examined 
the river with 
eagle eyes to de- 
tect some place 
at which a land- 
ing could be at- 
tempted. His 
energy was re- 
warded by his 
discovery of the 
cove which now 
bears his name. 
From the shore 
at the head of 
this cove a steep 
and difficult 

pathway, along which two men could scarcely march abreast, wound up to 
the summit of the heights, and was guarded by a small force of 
Canadians. W^olfe at once resolved to effect a landing here and ascend 
the heights by this path. The greatest secrecy was necessary to the suc- 
cess of the undertaking, and in order to deceive the French as to his real 
design. Captain Cook, afterwards famous as a great navigator, was sent 
to take soundings and place buoys opposite Montcalm's camp, as if 
that were to be the real point of attack. The morning of the 13th of 




GENEKAL JAMES WOLFE. 



382 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

September was chosen for the movement, and the day and niglit of the 
12th were spent in preparations for it. 

At one o'clock on the morning of the 13th, a force of about five 
thousand men under Wolfe, with Monckton and Murray, set off in boats 
from the fleet, which had ascended the river several days before, and 
dropped down to the point designated for the landing. Each officer was 
thoroughly informed of the duties required of him, and each shared the 
resolution of the gallant young commander, to conquer or die. As the 
boats floated down the stream, in the clear, cool starlight, Wolfe spoke to 
his officers of the poet Gray, and of his " Elegy in a Country Church- 
yard." " I would prefer," said he, " being the author of that poem to 
the glory of beating the French to-morrow." Then in a musing voice 
he repeated the lines : 

"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 

And all tliut beauty, all tliat wealth e'er gave, 
Await alike the inexorable hour; 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 

In a short while the landing-place was reached, and the fleet, follow- 
ing silently, took position to cover the landing if necessary. Wolfe 
and his immediate command leaped ashore, and secured the pathway. 
The light infantry, who were carried by the tide a little below the path, 
clambered up the side of the heights, sustaining themselves by clinging 
to the roots and shrubs which lined the precipitous face of the hill. 
Thev reached the summit and drove off the picket-guard after a slight 
skirmish. The rest of the troops ascended in Safety by the pathway, and 
a battery of two guns was abandoned on the left to Colonel Howe. 
Having gained the heights, Wolfe moved forward rapidly to clear the 
forest, and by daybreak his army was drawn up on the Heights of 
Abraham, in the rear of the city. 

Montcalm was speedily informed of the presence of the English. " It 
can be but a small party come to burn a few houses and retire," he 
answered incredulously. A brief examination satisfied him of his danger, 
and he exclaimed in amazement : " Then they have at last got to the weak 
sitle of this miserable garrison. We must give battle and crush them 
before mid-day." He at once despatched a messenger for De Bougain- 
ville, who was fifteen miles up the river, and marched from his camp 
opposite the city to the Heights of Abraham, to drive the English from 
them. The opposing forces were about equal in numbers, though the 
English troops were superior to their adversaries in steadiness and deter- 
mination. The battle began about ten o'clock, and was stubbornly con- 
tested. It was at length decided in favor of the English. AVolfe, though 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



383 



wounde-(l several times, continued to direct his army until, as he was 
leading them to the final charge, he received a musket ball in the breast. 
He tottered, and called to an officer near him : " Support me ; let not my 
brave fellows see me drop." He was borne tenderly to the rear, and 
water was brought him to quench his thirst. At this moment the officer 
upon whom he was leaning cried out : " They run ! they run ! " " Who 
run ? " asked the dying hero, eagerly. " The French," said the officer, 
"give way everywhere." "What?" said Wolfe, summoning up his 




DEATH OF GENEEAL WOLFE BEFORE QUEBEC. 

remaining strength, " do they run already ? Go, one of you, to Colonel 
Burton ; bid him march Webb's regiment with all speed to Charles river 
to cut off the fugitives." Then, a smile of contentment overspreading 
his pale features, he murmured : " Now, God be praised, I die happy," 
and expired. He had done his whole duty, and with his life had pur- 
chased an empire for his country. 

INIonckton, the second in rank, having been wounded, the command 
devolved upon General Townshend, a brave officer, but incapable of 
following up such a success with vigor. He recalled the troops from the 



384 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

pursuit, and contented himself with the possession of the battle-field. 
At this moment De Bougainville arrived with his division, but Town- 
shend declined to renew the engagement. 

Montcalm had borne himself heroically during the battle, and had 
done all that a brave and skilful commander could do to win the victory. 
As he Avas endeavoring to rally his troops at their final repulse, he was 
wounded for the second time, and was carried into the city. The surgeon 
informed him that his wound was mortal. " So much the better," he 
answered cheerfully ; " I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec." 
De Ramsay, the commandant of the post, asked his advice about the 
defence of the city. " To your keeping," answered Montcalm, " I com- 
mend the honor of France. I will neither give orders nor interfere any 
further. I have business of greater moment to attend to. My time is 
short. I shall pass the night with God, and jjrepare myself for death." 
He then wrote a letter to the English commander, commending the 
French prisoners to his generosity, and at five o'clock on the morning of 
the 14th his spirit passed away. Succeeding generations have paid to 
his memory the honors it deserves, and on the spot where the fate of 
Quebec was decided the people of Canada have erected, to commemorate 
the heroism of the conqueror and the conquered, a noble monument 
inscribed with the names of Wolfe and Moxtcalm. 

TheoFrench lost five hundred killed and one thousand prisoners, while 
the loss of the English was six hundred in killed and wounded. Five 
days afterward, on the 18th of September, the city and garrison of Quebec 
surrendered to General Townshend. The capture of this great strong- 
hold was hailed with rejoicings in both America and England. Con- 
gratulations were showered upon Pitt, who modestly put them aside with 
the reverent remark : " I will aim to serve my country ; but the more a 
man is versed in business, the more he finds the hand of Providence 
everywhere." 

In April, 1760, De Levi, the French commander at Montreal, attacked 
Quebec with a force of ten thousand men, hoping to reduce it before the 
arrival of reinforcements from England. Murray, the English com- 
mander, marched out with three thousand men to attack him, and in a 
severe battle on the 26th of April was defeated and driven back to the 
city with a loss of one thousand men. The French then laid siege to 
Quebec, but on the 9th of May an English fleet arrived to its relief, and 
De Levi was obliged to withdraw to Montreal. In September Montreal 
itself was invested by a powerful force under General Amherst. Seeing 
that there was no hope of resistance, the French commander surrendered 
the town on the 8tli of September, 1760. With this capture Canada 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 385 

passed entirely into the hands of the English. Detroit and the other 
posts on the lakes were soon given up by the French, and the dominion 
of France in America was confined to the valley of the Mississippi. 
There were no further hostilities between the English and French, but, 
as we shall see, the war was kept up by the Indians for some years later. 

The French and Indian war was closed by the treaty of Paris, on the 
10th of February, 1763. By this treaty Great Britain obtained all the 
French territory east of the Mississippi, with the exception of the island 
of New Orleans, the northern boundary of which was the rivers Iberville 
and Amite, and Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain. Florida was ceded 
to England by Spain in exchange for Havana. France ceded to Spain 
the island of New Orleans and all Louisiana west of the Mississippi. 
Thus Great Britain was mistress of the whole of the vast reg-ion east of 
the Mississippi, with the exception of the island of New Orleans, from 
the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The region west of the Missis- 
sippi was claimed by Spain. In all the vast continent of America 
France retained not one foot of ground. 

In the meantime the Indians of the southwest had become involved in 
war with the whites. The Cherokees, who had always been friendly to 
the English, had done good service during the early part of the war by 
protecting the frontiers of Virginia, and had served also in Forbes' 
expedition against Fort Duquesne. They received for their services no 
reward or pay from any source, and as they were setting out for their 
homes neither General Forbes nor the colonial authorities supplied them 
with either food or money. To avoid starvation on their march they 
were compelled to plunder the barns of some of the settlers, and this led 
to a conflict which rapidly spread into a border war. Lyttleton, the gov- 
ernor of South Carolina, exerted himself to prevent the restoration of 
peace, and with success, as he desired the credit of exterminating the 
Cherokees. He was opposed by the legislature and people of the colony, 
but in 1759 he sent a force into their country, which committed such 
ravages that the Cherokees, driven to despair, resolved upon a war of 
extermination. They made a league with the Muscogees, and sent to the 
French in Louisiana for military stores. The Carolinians asked aid 
of General Amherst, who sent them a force of twelve hundred men, 
principally Highlanders, under General Montgomery. Reinforced by a 
body of Carolinians, Montgomery invaded the Cherokee country in 1760, 
and laid it waste. This tribe had made great advances in civilization, 
and had settled in villages, and engaged in the cultivation of their lands. 
Their homes were made desolate, and they were driven to the mountains. 
Montgomery then rejoined Amherst, in the north, in obedience to orders ; 
25 



386 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

but the Indians for many years maintained a desultory warfare along the 
southwestern border. 

The surrender of Canada to the English was viewed with the greatest 
disfavor by the Indians of the north and west, who were attached to the 
French, and were unwilling to submit to the rule of the English. Im- 
mediately after the surrender the English occupied all the French posts 
along the lakes, and in the Ohio valley, with small garrisons. The con- 
trast between these and the French, who had formerly held these forts, 
soon impressed itself forcibly upon the minds of the savages. The 
French had been friendly and kind to the Indians, and had sought to 
convert them to Christianity ; the English were haughty and domineer- 
ing, and insulted their priests, and denounced their religion. The French 
had ])rohibited the sale of rum to the Indians ; the English introduced 
it, and finding it profitable continued it, with a recklessness of conse- 
quences which did not escape the keen observation of the savages. The 
demoralization of the red men was rapid, and drunkenness and its attend- 
ant vices wrought sad changes in them. The tribes were bitterly hostile 
to the men who were ruining their people, and all were alarmed by the 
ra})idity with which emigration had been pouring over the mountains 
since the capture of Fort Duquesue. They saw that they were about to 
be driven from their homes, and forced westward, before the advancing 
tide of the whites. 

The most determined opponent of the English rule was Pontiac, a 
chief of the Ottawas. He was a Catawba by birth, had been brought 
from his native country as a prisoner, and had been adopted into the 
Ottawa tribe, Avhose chief he had become by his bravery and skill. He 
Mas the idol of his own people, and his influence over the neighboring 
tribes was boundless. He was styled " the king and lord of all the 
country of the northAvest," and bitterly resented the English occupation 
of his dominions. The first English officer who came to take possession 
of the French forts was received by him with the stern demand, " How 
dare you come to visit my country without my leave?" This "forest 
hero" now resolved to unite all the tribes of the northwest in a last de- 
termined effort to drive out the English, and regain the independence of 
the red man. The plan of operations which he adopted was most com- 
prehensive, and was the most remarkable exhibition of genuine leadership 
ever given by an Indian. He began negotiations with the neighboring 
tribes, and induced the Delawares, Shawnees, the Senecas, Miarais, and 
many of the smaller tribes, occupying the great region of the upper 
lakes, the valley of the Ohio, and a portion of the Mississippi valley, to 
join his people in their effort against the English. He sent a prophet to 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



387 



all the tribes to declare to them that the Great Spirit had revealed to him 
" that if the English were permitted to dwell in their midst, then the 
white man's diseases and poisons would utterly destroy them." The con- 
spiracy was pressed forward with energy, and though it was more than a 
year in forming, it was kept a profound secret. 

The principal post on the upper lakes was Detroit. It was surrounded 
by a numerous French population engaged in agriculture and trading. 
It was the centre of the trade of this region, and its possession was of 
the highest importance to the English. Pontiac was anxious to obtain 
possession of this fort, and 
sent word to Major Gladwin, 
the commandant, that he was 
coming on a certain day, with 
his warriors, to have a talk 
with him. The chief was 
resolved to make this visit 
the occasion of seizing the 
fort, and massacring the gar- 
rison ; and he and his warriors 
selected for the attempt cut 
down their rifles to a length 
w^hich enabled them to con- 
ceal them under their blankets, 
in order to enter the fort with 
their arms. The plot was re- 
vealed to Gladwin by an In- 
dian girl, whose affections 
had been won by one of the 
English officers, and when 
Pontiac and his warriors re- 
paired to the fort for their 
"talk" Gladwin made him 
aware that his conspiracy was 
mitted him to leave the fort in 




PONTIAC. 



discovered, and very unwisely per- 
safety. Pontiac now threw off the 
mask of friendship and boldly attacked Detroit. This was the signal 
for a general war. In about three weeks' time the savages surprised and 
captured every fort west of Niagara, with the exception of Detroit and 
Pittsburgh. The garrisons were, with a few exceptions, put to death. 
Over one hundred traders were killed and scalped in the woods, and more 
than five hundred families were driven, with the loss of many of their 
numbers, from their settlements on the frontier. Pontiac endeavored, 



388 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

without success, to capture Detroit, and a large force of the warriors of 
several of the tribes laid siege to Pittsburgh, the most important post in 
the valley of the Ohio. The ravages of the Indians were extended over 
the wide territory between the Ohio and the Mississippi, and the settle- 
ments in that region were for the time completely broken up. 

General Bouquet, with a force of five hundred men, consisting chiefly 
of Scotch Highlanders, was sent from eastern Pennsylvania to the relief 
of Fort Ligonier, which was located at the western base of the moun- 
tains, and of Pittsburgh. Their march lay through a region which had 
been desolated by the Indians, and they were obliged to depend upon the 
stores they carried with them. Upon reaching Fort Ligonier Bouquet 
found the communication with Pittsburgh cutoff, and could learn nothing 
of the fate of the fort or garrison. Leaving his cattle and wagons at 
Ligonier, he pushed forward with his men in light marching order, deter- 
mined to ascertain if Pittsburgh still held out. He had to fight his way 
through the Indians, who turned aside from the siege of the fort, and 
ambushed the Highlanders at nearly every step. They were overwhelm- 
ingly defeated by the gallant Highlanders, for Bouquet was now a veteran 
Indian fighter, and had learned to fight the savages with their own tactics. 
Their rout M-as complete, and Bouquet reached Pittsburgh in safety, to the 
great joy of the garrison. 

' Bouquet's victory was decisive. The Indians were utterly disheart- 
ened, and fled westward ; and from that day the Ohio valley was freed 
from their violence. The tide of emigration once more began to flow 
over the mountains, and this time it was to know no cessation. The 
tribes concerned in Pontiac's conspiracy lost hope, and were overaAved by 
the preparations of the English for their destruction, and began to with- 
draw from the confederacy, and make peace with the whites. Pontiac 
soon found himself deserted by all his followers, even by his own ])eople ; 
but his proud spirit would not brook the thought of submission. He 
would make no treaty ; he was the mortal foe of the English, and would 
never acknowledge their rule. Leaving his home and his people, he set 
out for the country of the Illinois, for the purpose of stirring up the 
more distant tribes to war. A proclamation from Lord Amherst offered 
a reward for his murder, and he soon fell, the victim of the hired 
assassin. 

The long war was over. It had brought both loss and gain to the 
colonies. It had involved them in an expenditure of $16,000,000, of 
which sura but $5,000,000 had been refunded by the English govern- 
ment. Thus the debts of the colonies were greatly increased. Thirty 
thousand men had been killed, or had died from wounds or disease dur- 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 389 

ing the war, and the sufferings of the settlers along the extended and 
exposed frontiers had been almost incalculable. 

On the other hand, the war had greatly increased the business of the 
colonies, especially in those of the north. Large sums had been spent in 
America by Great Britain for the support of her armies and fleets, and 
many fortunes were built up by enterprising men during this period. 
Above all the Americans had been taught their own strength, and the 
value of united action. They had often proved their superiority to the 
regular troops of the English army, and had learned valuable lessons in 
the art of war. In the long struggle Washington, Gates, Morgan, Mont- 
gomery, Stark, Putnam, and others were trained for the great work 
which was to be required of them in future years. The colonies were 
bound together by a common grievance, arising out of the haughty con- 
tempt with which the royal commanders treated the provincial troops, 
and sacrificed their interests to those of the regulars. The lesson that 
the colonies could do without the assistance of England, and that their 
true interests demanded a separation from her, was deeply implanted in 
the minds of many of the leading men. Another gain for the colonies 
was a i^ositive increase in their liberties, resulting from the war. The 
necessity of securing the cordial cooperation of the Americans during the 
struggle caused the royal governors to cease their efforts to enforce arbi- 
trary laws, during the existence of hostilities, as the enforcement of such 
measures would have alienated the colonists, and have prevented them 
from raising the needed supplies of men and money. The colonial 
assemblies were careful to take advantage of this state of affairs. They 
made their grants of supplies with great caution, and retained in their 
own hands all the disbursements of the public funds. They thus accus- 
tomed the people to the practices of free government, and taught them 
their rights in the matter, so that when the war closed the royal gov- 
ernors found that, they were no longer able to practise their accustomed 
tyranny. 




CHAPTER XXV. 

CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Injustice of Great Britain towards her Colonies — The Navigation Acts — Effects of these 
Laws upon tlie Colonies — Great Britain seeks to destroy the Manufactures of America — 
"Writs of Assistance — They are Opposed — Home Manufactures Encouraged by the 
Americans — Ignorance of Englishmen concerning America — Great Britain claims the 
Right to Tax America — Eesistance of the Colonists — Samuel Adams — The Parsons' 
Cause — Patrick Henry — England persists in her Determination to Tax America — Pas- 
sage of the Stamp Act — Resistance of the Colonies — Meeting of the First Colonial Con- 
gress — Its Action — William Pitt — Repeal of the Stamp Act— Franklin before the House 
of Commons — New Taxes imposed upon America — Increased Resistance of the Colonies 
— Troops quartered in Boston — The "Massacre" — Tlie Non-Importation Associations — 
Growth of Hostility to England — Burning of the "Gaspe" — The Tax on Tea retained 
by tlie King — Destruction of Tea at Boston — Wrath of the British Government — Boston 
Harbor Closed — Troops Quartered in Boston — The Colonies come to the Assistance of 
Boston — Action of the Virginia Assembly — General Gage in Boston — The Regulating 
Act — Its Failure — Gage seizes the ^lassachusetts Powder — Uprising of the Colony — 
Meeting of the Continental Conoress — Its Action — Addresses to the King and People of 
England — The Eai'l of Chatham's Indorsement of Congress — The King remains 
Stubborn. 

>A 

jCJtHE treaty of Paris placed England in control of the Xorth 
American continent east of the INIississippi, and the English 
government was of the opinion that this possession brought with 
it the right to treat America as it pleased, without regard to the 
rights or liberties of her peo])le. We have already considered 
some of the many acts of injustice by which Great Britain drove the 
colonies into rebellion against her. We have now to relate those bearing 
more immediately on the separation. 

The navigation acts of 1660 and 1663 were passed, as we have seen, 
for the purpose of crippling the commerce of the colonies, and confirming 
their dependence upon England. They were severely felt throughout all 
the colonies, and especially in New England, which was largely de- 
pentlent upon its commerce. These acts were the beginning of a policy 
deliberately adopted by England, and persisted in by her for more than 
a century, for the purpose of enriching her mercantile class by depriving 
the colonists of the just rewards of their labors. The Americans were 
regarded by the mother country as inferiors, and as dependents, who had 
390 




CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 391 

been planted by her in " settlements established in distant parts of the 
world for the benefit of trade." The natural right of all men to acquire 
property and wealth by the exercise of their industry was denied to 
them; they were to labor only that the. British merchant might grow 
rich at their expense. Every species of industry in America, save the 
mere cultivation of the soil, was to be heavily taxed that it might be 
crushed out of existence. The Americans were to be obliged to ship 
their products to England for sale, and to be compelled to purchase in 
her markets the supplies they needed. No foreign country might trade 
directly with the colonies. Such articles of foreign production as were 
needed must be shipped to England, and then transferred to British ves- 
sels for transportation to the colonies, in order that they might yield a 
profit to the English ship-owner. The only direct trade which was 
allo\ved, and was not taxed, was the infamous traffic in negro slaves, 
against which every colony protested, and which Great Britain compelled 
them to accept. Even the trees in the " free woods," suitable for masts, 
were claimed by the king, and marked by his " surveyer-general of 
woods." It was a criminal offence to cut one of them after being so 
marked. 

In spite of these outrages the colonies persisted in their efforts to 
establish manufactures and a commerce of their own. As early as 1643 
iron works were established in Massachusetts, and in 1721 the New Eng- 
land colonies contained six furnaces, and nineteen forges. Pennsylvania 
was still more largely engaged in the manufacture of tiiis metal, and ex- 
ported large quantities of it to other colonies. By the year 1756 there 
were eight furnaces and nine forges, for smelting copper, in operation in 
Maryland. In 1721 the British ironmasters endeavored to induce Par- 
liament to put a stop to the production of iron in America, but without 
success. In 1750 they were more successful. In that year an act of 
Parliament forbade, under heavy penalties, the exportation of pig-iron 
from America to England, and the manufacture by the Americans of bar- 
iron or steel for their own use. All the iron works in the colonies were 
ordered to be closed, and any that might afterwards be erected were to be 
destroyed as " nuisances." 

Some of the colonies had engaged in the manufacture of woollen 
goods, and the making of hats had become a very large and profitable 
business. In 1732 Parliament forbade the transportation of woollen 
goods of American manufacture from one colony to another, and the 
same restriction was placed upon the trade in hats. As an excuse for 
this outrage it Avas argued that as the Americans had an unlimited sup- 
ply of beaver and other furs open to them, they would soon be able to 



392 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

supply all Europe, as well as themselves, with hats. England was un- 
willing that America should manufacture a single article which she could 
supply, and in order to cripple the industry of the colonies still further 
it was enacted by Parliament that no manufacturer should employ more 
than two apprentices. In 1733 the famous "Molasses Act" was passed, 
imposing a duty on sugar, molasses, or rum imported into any of the 
British possessions from any foreign colony. The object of this act was 
to benefit the British West India possessions by .compelling the North 
American colonies to trade with them. 

In order to enforce the various restrictions upon the trade of the 
colonies Great Britain established in America a large force of customs 
officers, who were given unlawful powers for this purpose. Parliament 
enacted that any sheriff or officer of the customs, who suspected that mer- 
chandise imported into the colony in which he was stationed had not 
paid the duty required by law, might apply to the colonial courts for a 
search warrant, or " writ of assistance," and enter a store or private 
dwelling and search for the goods he suspected of being unlawfully im- 
ported. These writs were first used in Massachusetts in 1761, and 
aroused a storm of indignation from the people, who felt that their 
most sacred rights were being violated by them. They were resisted, 
and the case was carried before the courts in order to test their validity. 
James Otis, the attorney for the crown,, resigned his office rather than 
argue in behalf of them, and with great eloquence pleaded the cause of 
the people. His speech created a profound impression thoughout the 
colonies, and aroused a determination in the hearts of his fellow-citizens 
to oppose the other enactments of Parliament which they felt to be un- 
just. This trial was fatal to the writs, which were scarcely ever used 
afterwards. " Then and there," says John Adams, " M-as the first opposi- 
tion to arbitrary acts of Great Britain. Then and there American 
Independence was born." 

The spirit of opposition soon manifested itself in the New England 
colonies. The manufactures, trade, and fisheries of that section were 
almost ruined, and tlie people had no choice but to defend themselves. 
Associations were formed in all the colonies pledging themselves not to 
purcliase of English manufacturers anything but tlio absolute necessities 
of life. Families began to make their own linen and woollen-cloths, and 
to preserve sheep for their wool. Homespun garments became the dress 
of the patriot party, and foreign cloths were almost driven out of use. 
It was resolved to encourage home manufactures in every possible way, 
and associations were formed for this purpose. These measures became 
very popular, and were adopted by the other colonies in rapid succession. 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 393 

England was blind to these signs of alienation and danger, and such 
of her public men as saw them regarded them as of no importance. It 
was resolved to go still further, and levy direct taxes upon the colonies. 
In 1763 such a proposition was brought forward by the ministers. It 
was claimed by them that as the debt of England had been largely in- 
creased by the French war, which had been fought in their defence, it was 
but right that they should help to defray the expense by paying a tax to 
the English government. 

In the meantime the colonies had warmly discussed the intentions of 
Great Britain respecting them, and all strenuously denied the right of the 
mother country to tax them without granting them some form of repre- 
sentation in her government. They claimed the right to have a voice in 
the disposal of their property, and they regarded the design of Parlia- 
ment as but a new proof of the indisposition of the mother country to 
treat them with justice. The feeling of the Americans towards England 
at this period has been aptly described as "distrust and suspicion, 
strangely mixed up with filial reverence — an instinctive sense of injury, 
instantly met by the instinctive suggestion that there must be some con- 
stitutional reason for doing it, or it would not be done." In spite of the 
injui^es they had received at her hands the Americans were warmly 
attached to England. They gloried in her triumphs, were proud to trace 
their descent from her, and claimed a share in her great history and grand 
achievements. Had England been wise she might have strengthened this 
attachment to such an extent that the ties which bound the two countries 
could never have been sundered. But England was not only careless of 
the rights of Americans, she was grossly ignorant of their country and 
of their character. " Few Englishmen had accurate ideas of the nature, 
the extent, or even the position of the colonies. And when the Duke of 
Newcastle hurried to the king with the information that Cape Breton 
was an island, he did what perhaps half his colleagues in the ministry, 
and more than half* his colleagues in Parliament, would have done in his 
place. They knew that the colonies were of vast extent ; that they lay 
far away beyond the sea ; that they produced many things which Eng- 
lishmen wanted to buy, and consumed many things which Englishmen 
wanted to sell ; that English soldiers had met England's hereditary ene- 
mies, the French, in their forests ; that English sailors had beaten French 
sailors on their coasts. But they did not know that the most flourishing 
of these colonies had been planted by men who, prizing freedom above 
all other blessings, had planted them in order to secure for themseh^es 
and their children a home in which they could worship God according 
to their own idea of worship, and put forth the strength of their minds 



394 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



and of their bodies, according to their own conception of what was best 
for them here and hereafter." * The few Americans who visited Great 
Britain found themselves looked upon as aliens and inferiors ; their affec- 
tion for the land of their fathers was met with contempt, and they were 
ridiculed as barbarians. The English colonial officials made this feeling 
apparent to those Americans who remained at home. Everywhere tiie 
colonists saw themselves treated with injustice. The hard-earned glories 
of their troops in the colonial wars were denied them and claimed for 
the English regulars, and there was scarcely a provincial who had borne 
arms but had some petty insult or injury, at the hands of the royal 
authorities, to complain of. Looking back over their history the Ameri- 
cans could not remember 
a time when they had 
not been treated with in- 
justice by Great Britain. 
They owed that country 
nothing for the planting 
of the colonies; that was 
the work of their ances- 
tors, who had been forced 
to fly from England to 
escape wrong and injury. 
They had been left to 
conquer their early diffi- 
culties without aid, and 
with scanty symj)athy 
from England, who had 
taken no notice of them 
until they were suffi- 
ciently prosperous to be 
profitable to her. Then she had rarely laid her hand upon them but to 
wrong them. She had pursued such a imiformly unjust policy towards 
them that their affection for her was rapidly giving way to a general de- 
sire to separate from her. They owed her nothing ; they were resolved 
to maintain their liberties against her. Some of the leading men of the 
colony had already begun to dream of the future greatness of America, 
and had become convinced that the true interests of their country 
required a separation from England. 

In spite of this feeling England persisted in her course of folly. In 
March, 1764, the House of Commons resolved, "that Parliament had a 




SAMUEL ADAMS. 



* Historical View of the American Bevolution. By 6. W. Greene, p. 1 5, 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 395 

right to tax America." The next month (April) witnessed the enforce- 
ment of this claim in the passage of an act of Parliament levying duties 
upon certain articles imported into America. By the same act iron and 
lumber were added to the " enumerated articles " which could be exported 
only to England. The preamble to this measure declared that its pur- 
pose was to raise " a revenue for the expenses of defending, protecting, 
and securing his majesty's dominions in America." 

The colonists protested against this act as a violation of their liberties, 
and declared that they had borne their full share of the expense of the 
wars for their defence, that they were now able to protect themselves 
without assistance from the king, and added the significant warning that 
" taxation without representation was tyranny." No one yet thought of 
armed resistance ; the colonists were resolved to exhaust every peaceful 
means of redress before proceeding to extreme measures. As yet the 
desire for separation was confined to a few far-seeing men. 

Prominent among these was Samuel Adams, of Boston, a man in 
whom the loftiest virtues of the old Puritans were mingled with the 
graces of more modern times. Modest and unassuming in manner, a 
man of incorruptible integrity and sincere piety, he was insensible to fear 
in the discharge of his duty. He was a deep student of constitutional 
law, and was gifted with an eloquence which could move multitudes. 
His clear vision had already discerned the dangers which threatened his 
country, and had discovered the only path by which she could emerge from 
them in safety. His plan was simple: resistance, peaceable at first; 
forcible if necessary. Under his guidance the people of Boston met and 
protested against the new plan of taxation, and instructed their repre- 
sentatives in the general court to oppose it. " We claim British rights, 
not by charter only," said the Boston resolves; "we are born to them. 
If we are taxed without our consent, our property is taken without our 
consent, and then we are no more freemen, but slaves." The general 
court of Massachusetts declared " that the imposition of duties and taxes 
by the Parliament of Great Britain upon a people not represented in the 
House of Commons is absolutely irreconcilable with their rights." A 
committee was appointed to correspond with the other colonies, with a 
view to bringing about a concerted action for the redress of grievances. 
In Virginia, New York, Connecticut, and the Carolinas equally vigorous 
measures were taken. 

In Virginia the first indication of the people to resist the arbitrary 
measures of the crown was given in a matter insignificant in itself, but 
clearly involving the great principle at issue. In that colony tobacco was 
the lawful currency, and the failure of a crop, or a rise in the price of 



396 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



tobacco, made such payments often very burdensome. In the winter of 
1763 the legislature passed a law authorizing the people of the colony to 
pay their taxes and other public dues in money, at the rate of twopence a 
pound for the tobacco due. The clergymen of the established church 
had each a salary fixed by law at a certain number of pounds of tobacco, 
and as this measure involved them in a loss they refused to acquiesce in 
it, and induced Sherlock, the bishop of London, to persuade the king 
to refuse the law his signature. "The rights of the clergy and the 
authority of the king must stand or fall together" was the sound argu- 
ment of the bishop. Failing 



of the royal signature the law 
was inoperative. 

The matter was soon 
brought to an issue in Vir- 
ginia. The Rev. Mr. Maury, 
one of the clergymen affected 
by the law, brought a suit to 
recover damages, or the dif- 
ference between twopence per 
pound and the current market 
price of tobacco, which was 
nnich higher. This was pop- 
ularly known as the " Par- 
sons' Cause." It was a clearly 
joined issue between the right 
of the people to make their 
own laws on the one side, and 
the king's prerogative on the 
other. The " parsons " se- 
cured the best talent in the colony for the prosecution of their claims ; 
the cause of the " people " was confided to a young man of twenty-seven, 
whose youth was supplemented by the additional disadvantages of being 
poor and unknown. He was Patrick Henry, the son of a plain farmer, 
and a native of the county of Hanover. He had received but little edu- 
cation, as his father's straitened circumstances had compelled him to put 
his son to the task of earning his bread at the early age of fifteen years. 
He entered a coiuitry store, and the next year went into business with his 
elder brother, William, who being too indolent to attend to business left 
the store to the management, or rather the mismanagement of Patrick. 
The young man M'as brimming over with good nature, and could never find 
it in his heart to refuse any one credit, and was too kind-hearted to press 




PATRICK HENKY. 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 397 

unwilling debtors to payment. He let the store " manage itself," and 
amused himself by studying the character of his customers, and with his 
flute and violin. He was also a great reader, and read every work he 
could buy or borrow. The store survived about a year, and the next two 
or three years were passed by Patrick in settling its affairs. At the age 
of eighteen he married, and began life as a farmer. He soon grew tired 
of this pursuit, and selling his farm once more engaged in mercantile 
life. It was not suited to him, nor he to it. He passed his days in read- 
ing, this time giving his attention to works of history and philosophy. 
Livy was his favorite, and he read it through at least once a year for 
many years. His second mercantile enterprise ended in bankruptcy in a 
few years, and in extreme want he determined to try the law. He obtained 
a license to practice after a six weeks' course of study, and entered upon 
his new career utterly ignorant of its duties. It is said that he could not 
then draw up the simplest legal paper without assistance. He was then 
twenty-four years old, but it was not until he had reached the age of 
twenty-seven that he obtained a case worthy of his powers ; for he had 
genius, and it only required the proper circumstances to draw it out. He 
had passed days in communion with nature in his frequent hunting and 
fishing excursions, and had drunk deeply of the wisdom she imparts to 
her votaries. He had studied men with the eye of a master, and he had 
at last fallen into the position from which he could rise to his true place 
among the leading spirits of the age. In the case with which he was 
now intrusted, a decision of the court on a demurrer, in favor of the claims 
of the clergy, had left nothing undetermined but the amount of damages 
in the cause which was pending. 

" The array before Mr. Henry's eyes," says his biographer, William 
AVirt, "was now most fearful. On the bench sat more than twenty 
clergymen, the most learned men in the colony, and the most capable, as 
well as the severest critics before whom it was possible for him to have 
made his debut. The court-house was crowded with an overwhelming 
multitude, and surrounded with an immense and anxious throng, who, 
not finding room to enter, were endeavoring to listen without, in the 
deepest attention. But there was something still more awfully disconcert- 
ing than all this ; for in the chair of the presiding magistrate sat no other 
person than his own father. Mr. Lyons opened the cause very briefly : in 
the way of argument he did nothing more than explain to the jury that 
the decision upon the demurrer had put the act of 1750 entirely out of 
the way, and left the law of 1748 as the only standard of their damages ; 
he then concluded with a highly wrought eulogium on the benevolence 
of the clergy." 



398 HISTORY OF TEE UNITED STATES. 

^yhen it came Patrick Henry's turn to speak, he rose awkwardly, amid 
a profound silence. No one had ever heard him speak, and all were 
anxious to see how he would acquit himself. He clutched nervously at 
his papers, and faltered out his opening sentences with a degree of con- 
fusion which threatened every moment to put an end to his effort. The 
people watched their champion in sorrow and indignation ; the clergy 
exchanged glances of triumph, and eyed the speaker with contempt; while 
his father, overcome with shame, seemed ready to drop from his chair. 
But suddenly there came a change over the young advocate. Warming 
with his subject, he threw off his embarrassment and awkwardness, and 
stood erect and confident. His look of timidity gave place to one of 
command ; his countenance glowed with the fire of genius, and startled 
the gazers by the aspect of majesty which it assumed for the first time. 
His tones grew clear and bold, his action graceful and commanding, and 
the astounded jury and audience were given a display of eloquence such 
as was without a parallel in the history of the colony. Henry knew that 
the case was against him, but he pleaded the natural right of Virginia to 
make her own laws independently of the king and Parliament. He 
proved the justness of the law ; he drew a striking picture of the character 
of a good king, who should be the father of his people, but who becomes 
their tyrant and oppressor, and forfeits his claim to obedience M'hen he 
annuls just and good laws. The opposing counsel cried out at this bold 
declaration, " He has spoken treason," but was silenced by the excited 
throng. 

" They say," says Mr. AVirt, " that the people, Avhose countenances had 
fallen as he arose, had heard but a very few sentences before they began 
to look up ; then to look at each other in surprise, as if doubting the evi- 
dence of their own senses ; then, attracted by some gesture, struck by 
some majestic attitude, fascinated by the spell of his eye, the charm of his 
emphasis, and the varied and conmianding expression of his countenance, 
they could look away no more. In less than twenty minutes they might 
be seen in every part of the house, on every bench, in every window, 
stooping forward from their stands, in death-like silence; their features 
fixed in amazement and awe, all their senses listening and riveted upon 
the speaker, as if to catch the last strain of some heavenly visitant. The 
mockery of the clergy was soon turned into alarm, their triumph into 
confusion and despair, and at one burst of his rapid and overwhelming 
invective, they fled from the bench in precipitation and terror. As for 
the father, such was his surprise, such his amazement, such his raj^ture, 
that, forgetting where he was, and the character which he was filling, 
tears of ecstasy streamed down his cheeks without the power or inclination 
to repress them." 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



399 



The jury brought in a verdict of one penny damages for the " parsons," 
and the court overruled the motion of their counsel for a new trial. 
Henry from that moment took his place among the leaders of the patriot 
party in Virginia. He had struck a chord which responded in every 
American heart ; he had denied the right of the king to make laws for 
the colonies. 

The remonstrance of Massachusetts was followed by similar appeals 
from Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia. The peti- 
tion of New York was couched in such strong terms that no member of 
Parliament could be found bold enough to present it. These remon- 
strances "were unheeded by Parliament, which pronounced them "ab- 
surd " and " insolent." That body persisted in its determination to tax 
the colonies, and Grenville, the prime min- 
ister, warned the Americans that in a contest 
with Great Britain they could expect nothing 
but defeat. He announced the intention of 
the English government to levy the taxes, 
and graciously added that if the colonies pre- 
ferred any special form of taxation, their 
wishes would be met as far as j^ossible. In 
March, 1765, the measure known as the 
" Stamp Act " passed the House of Com- 
mons by a vote of five to one, and was 
adopted almost unanimously by the House 
of Lords. It met with a warm opposition 
in the Commons from the friends of America, 
prominent among whom was Colonel Barre, who had served with Wolfe 
in America, and had learned to appreciate the American character. The 
measure received the royal signature at once. The poor king would have 
signed any thing he was bidden — he toas insane. The act imposed a 
duty on all paper, vellum, and parchment used in the colonies, and re- 
quired that all writings of a legal or business nature should be made on 
" stamped paper ; " otherwise they were declared null and void. 

In order to enforce the " Stamp Act," Parliament, two months later, 
passed " the Quartering Act." It authorized the ministers to send as 
many troops as they should see fit to America, to enforce submission to 
the acts of Parliament. Wherever these troops should be stationed, it 
should be the duty of the people, at their own expense, to furnish them 
with quarters, fuel, bedding, cider or rum, candles, soap, "and other 
necessaries." 

The news of the passage of these acts produced the most intense ex- 




GEORGE THE THIRD. 



400 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

citeraent in America. The general assembly of Virginia was in session 
when the news was received in May. The royalist leaders were amazed 
at the folly of the ministry, but deemed it best to take no action in the 
matter. Patrick Henry, now a member of the assembly, rose in his 
place and oifered a series of resolutions, declaring that the people of Vir- 
ginia were bound to pay only such taxes as should be levied by their own 
assembly, and that all who maintained the contrary should be regarded 
as enemies of the liberties of the colony. These resolutions provoked an 
exciting debate, in which Henry in a magnificent oration exposed the 
tyranny of the British government, and stirred the hearts of the bur- 
gesses with a determination to resist. "Caesar had his Brutus," ex- 
claimed the orator in one of his loftiest flights, " Charles the First his 
Cromwell, and George the Third — ." The assembly was in an uproar. 
" Treason ! treason ! " shouted the speaker. A few joined in the cry, but 
the majority waited in breathless suspense the completion of the sentence 
of Henry, who, fixing his eye upon the speaker, added in a tone which 
was peculiar to himself, "may profit by their example. If that be 
treason, make the most of it." Tlie resolutions were adopted by a large 
majority. The next day, during Henry's absence, the timid assembly 
rescinded some of the resolves, and modified the others. The assembly, 
for thus daring to exercise its right of expressing its opinion, was at once 
dissolved by the governor ; but too late to prevent its action from pro- 
ducing its effect. Copies of the resolutions of Henry were forwarded to 
Philadelphia, where they were printed and circulated through the colo- 
nies. They aroused the drooping spirits of the people, and it was re- 
solved everywhere that the stamps should not be used in America. 

The general court of ISIassachusetts ordered that the courts should not 
require the use of stamps in conducting their business ; and in June, before 
the Virginia resolutions reached Boston, issued a circular inviting all the 
colonies to send delegates to a Congress to be held at New York in 
October. In the meantime associations were organized in all the colonies 
as far south as INIaryland, called " Sons of Liberty," for the purpose of 
stopping the use of stamps. The people were resolved to take the matter 
in their own hands. In Boston the mob attacked the house of Oliver, 
the secretary of the colony, who had been appointed to distribute the 
stamps, and compelled him to resign. They also attacked the houses of 
some of the most prominent supporters of the ministry, but the patriots 
sincerely deplored and condemned these violent proceedings. At "NVeth- 
ersficld, Connecticut, five hundred formers seized Jared Ingersol, the 
stamp officer for that colony, compelled him to resign, and then to remove 
his hat and give " three cheers for liberty, property, and no stamps." 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 401 

Similar scenes were enacted in the other colonies, expressive of the deter- 
mination of the people to resist the measures of the crown. 

On the 7th of October, 1765, the First Colonial Congress met at New 
York. It was composed of delegates from the colonies of Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, 
New York, and New Jersey. New Hampshire, though not represented 
by a delegate, gave her support to its measures, and Georgia formally 
signified her acceptance of the work of this body. Timothy Ruggles, of 
Massachusetts, was chosen president. The session extended over three 
weeks, and resulted in the adoption of a " Declaration of the Rights and 
Grievances of the Colonies ; " a petition to the king ; and a memorial to 
both Houses of Parliament. In the Declaration of Rights the Congress 
took the ground that it was a violation of their rights to tax them without 
granting them a representation in the Parliament of Great Britain, and 
that as such representation was impossible because of the distance between 
the two countries, no taxes could be legally imposed upon the colonies but 
by their own assemblies. The measures of the Congress were, as soon as 
possible, indorsed by all the colonial assemblies, and thus the colonies 
were drawn into that union which, in their own language, became " a 
bundle of sticks, which could neither be bent nor broken." 

At length the 1st of November arrived, the day on which the Stamp 
Act was to go into operation. Not a man could be found to execute the 
law, all the stamp officers having resigned through fear of popular vio- 
lence. Governor Colden, of New York, declared he was resolved to have 
the stamps distributed, but the people of the city warned him that he 
would do so at his peril, and burned him in effigy. Colden became 
alarmed at these demonstrations, and on the 5th of November delivered 
the stamps to the mayor and council of New York. In all the colonies 
the 1st of November was observed as a day of mourning. Bells were 
tolled, flags hung at half-mast, and business suspended. The merchants 
of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia united in an agreement to im- 
port no more goods from England, to countermand the orders already 
sent out, and to receive no goods on commission until the Stamp Act 
should be repealed. Their action was promptly sustained by the people, 
who pledged themselves to buy no articles of English manufacture, and to 
encourage home productions. Circulars were sent throughout the colo- 
nies urging the people to unite in such action, and were heartily responded 
to. Business went on without the use of stamps, and the courts ignored 
them in their proceedings. 

The news of these proceedings should have warned the English minis- 
ters of their folly : it only made them more determined to persist in it. 
26 



402 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



They resolved not to repeal the Stamp Act. To comply with* the 
request of the colonists now that they had resisted the law, would, they 
declared, be simply a surrender to rebellion. " Sooner than make our 
colonies our allies," said one of their number, " I would wish to see them 
returned to their primitive deserts." The friends of America, led by the 
ao-ed and infirm William Pitt, made a determined effort to procure the 
repeal of the Stamp Act, and they were now supported by all the influence 
of the English merchants, Avho found their trade rapidly falling off in 
consequence of tlie non-intercourse resolves adopted by the Americans. 




STAMP ACT OFFICIAL BEATEN BY THE PEOPLE. 



Swathed in flannels, Pitt proceeded to the House of Commons, and in a 
speech of great vigor urged the House to repeal the obnoxious and uncon- 
stitutional measure. In reply to Grenville, the prime minister, who 
accused him of exciting sedition in America, he said, " Sir, I have been 
charged with giving birth to sedition in America. Sorry I am to have 
the liberty of speech in this House imputed as a crime. But the impu- 
tation will not deter me ; it is a liberty I mean to exercise. The gentle- 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 403 

man tells us that America is obstinate ; that America is almost in rebellion. 
I rejoice that America has resisted." The House started at these words, 
but Pitt continued firmly, " If they had submitted, they would have vol- 
untarily become slaves. They have been driven to madness by injustice. 
My opinion is that the Stamp Act should be repealed, absolutely, totally, 
immediately." Edmund Burke, then a rising young man, eloquently 
sustained the appeal of the great commoner. 

The Commons had already begun to waver, but before yielding en- 
tirely, they wished to ascertain from competent witnesses the exact temper 
and disposition of the Americans. For this purpose, Benjamin Franklin, 
who was residing in London at the time as the agent of several of the 
colonies, was summoned before the bar of the House to give the desired 
information. He appeared, in answer to the summons, on the 13th of 
February, 1766. He was questioned by Lord Grenville and Charles 
Townshend, and by several friends of the ministry, and delivered his an- 
swers with firmness and clearness. He told them that the colonists could 
not pay for the stamps, as there was not enough gold and silver in the 
colonies for that purpose ; that they had incurred more *han their share 
of the expense of the last war, for which Great Britain had in no way 
reimbursed them ; that they were still burdened with heavy debts con- 
tracted in consequence of this war ; that they were well disposed towards 
Great Britain before 1763, and considered Parliament as " the great bul- 
wark and security of their liberties and privileges ; but that now their 
temper w'as much altered, and their respect for it lessened ; and if the act 
is not repealed, the consequence would be a total loss of the respect and 
affection they bore to this country, and of all the commerce that depended 
on that respect and affection." lie startled the House by declaring that 
in a few years America would be amply able to supply herself with all 
t\\Q necessities of life then furnished her by Great Britain. "I do not 
know," said he, " a single article imported into the northern colonies but 
what they can either do -without or make themselves. The people will 
spin and work for themselves, in their own houses. In three years there 
may be wool and manufactures enough." " If the legislature," he was 
asked, " should think fit to ascertain its right to lay taxes, by any act 
laying a small tax, contrary to their opinion, would they submit to pay 
the tax?" "An internal tax," he replied, "how small soever, laid by 
the legislature here, on the people there, will never be submitted to. They 
will ojipose it to the last. The people will pay no internal tax by Parlia- 
ment." " May they not," asked a friend of Grenville, " by the same in- 
terpretation of their common rights, as Englishmen, as declared by Magna 
Charta and the Petition of Right, object to the Parliament's right of ex- 



404 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ternal taxation ? " * " They never have hitherto," answered Franklin, 
promptly. " Many arguments have been lately used here to show them 
that there is no difference, and that if you have no right to tax them in- 
ternally, you have none to tax them externally, or make any other law 
^to bind them. At present they do not reason so ; but in time they may be 
convinced by these arguments." 

Franklin's testimony was conclusive. The Stamp Act was repealed 
on the 18th of March, 1766, not because it was acknowledged by Eng- 
land as a measure of injustice, but because it could not be enforced with- 
out a collision with the colonies, which the ministry were not as yet 
prepared for. The people of London greeted the repeal with great joy. 
Bonfires were lighted, bells were rung, the city was illuminated, and the 
shipping in the Thames was decorated with flags. The news was sent by 
"special messengers to the nearest ports, in order that it might reach 
America with as little delay as possible. 

In America the news of the repeal of the Stamp Act was received 
with the greatest joy. The bells were rung in the principal cities, the 
imprisoned debtors were released from captivity, the associations for non- 
intercourse with England were dissolved, and everywhere Pitt was hailed 
as the champion of the liberties of America. New York, Virginia, and 
Maryland each voted a statue to him. 

The rejoicings of the Americans were premature : Parliament in 
repealing the Stamp Act solemnly asserted, by a bill for that purpose, its 
right and power to "bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever." England 
was only baffled for the moment ; she had not relinquished her designs 
upon the liberties of America. 

The repeal of the Stamp Act brought with it the fall of Grenville's 
ministry. Another was appointed under the leadership of the Marquis of 
Rockingham ; but it was short-lived, and soon gave way. The king then 
summoned William Pitt, who had in the meantime been created Earl of 
Chatham, to form an independent ministry, late in 1766. This act was 
regarded with great hope in America, as Pitt was universally considered 
the colonists' best friend. These hopes were doomed to disappointment. 
In January, 1767, Charles Townshend, the chancellor of the exchequer 
in Pitt's cabinet, taking advantage of the absence of the prime minister, 
declared in the House of Commons that it was his intention, at all risks, 
to derive a revenue from America by laying taxes upon her, and that 
he knew how to raise this revenue from her. Having: thus thrown do^vn 
the gauntlet to his official chief it became evident that either the Earl of 
Chatham must relinquish the premiership, or Townshend must leave the 

* The levying of duties by Parliament on merchandise imported into the colonies. 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 405 

cabinet. Chatham was anxious to dismiss him from the chancellorship, 
but as it was known that Townshend was acting in accordance with the 
sympathies and wishes of the king, no one was willing to risk his pros- 
pects by accepting the chancellorship in Townshend's place ; and Chat- 
ham, unable to fill his place, was obliged to retain him. In utter 
disgust Chatham withdrew from active participation in the affairs of the 
cabinet, and Townshend remained supreme director of the colonial 
policy of England. In May Townshend revealed his plan for raising a 
revenue in America. It was to levy a duty, to be collected in the 
colonies, on certain articles of commerce, such as wine, oil, paints, glass, 
paper, and lead colors, and especially upon tea, which last commodity he 
declared the Americans obtained cheaper from the Dutch smugglers than 
the English themselves. He was told that if he would withdraw the 
army from America there would be no necessity for taxing the colonies. 
He replied, " I M'ill hear nothing on the subject ; it is absolutely neces- 
sary to keep an army there." In June, 1767, an act was passed by 
Parliament levying upon the colonies the duties proposed by Townshend ; 
and a board of commissioners of the customs for America was established, 
with its head-quarters at Boston. Soon after their alppointment the 
" Romney " frigate entered Boston harbor, and the new commissioners, 
confident in her protection, treated the people of Boston with unbearable 
haughtiness. Her officers frequently stopped the New England vessels 
as they entered the harbor, and impressed seamen from their decks. 

The colonies were moved with the profoundest indignation ujjon the 
receipt of the news of the imposition of the new taxes. The colonial 
newspapers, which now numbered twenty-five, were filled with appeals to 
the people to stand up for their liberties. The old associations for non- 
importation of English goods were revived, and on every hand the 
declaration was unanimous that the Americans would neither eat, drink, 
nor wear anything imported from England. The general court of 
Massachusetts issued a circular letter to the other colonial assemblies 
inviting them to unite with her in measures for obtaining redress. 

The English ministers were greatly incensed at the new resistance of 
the colonists, and in June, 1768, ordered the general court of Massachu- 
setts to rescind its circular letter. Their demand was refused, and the 
general court, led by James Otis and Samuel Adams, expressed its con- 
viction that Parliament would better serve the cause of peace by repeal- 
ing its obnoxious laws. The circular had been favorably received by the 
other colonies, and Massachusetts was constantly receiving from them 
encouragement to persist in her resistance to the tyranny of the ministry. 
As a punishment for the refusal of the general court to rescind its circu- 



406 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



lar, that body was dissolved by the royal governor of Massachusetts. 
Some of the other colonial assemblies that had shown sympathy with 
Massachusetts were also dissolved by their respective governors. 

A very bitter feeling existed between the people and the royal officials, 
and, to make mattei*s worse, at this crisis the revenue officers at Boston 
seized a schooner belonging to John Hancock, one of the patriot leaders, 
on the pretext that her owner had made a false entry of her cargo, which 
consisted of wine. The schooner was towed under the guns of the 
"Romney" frigate, and a crowd collected in Boston and attacked the 




FANEUIL HALL IN 1775. 

houses of the commissioners of customs, who were forced to fly to the fort 
on Castle island for safety. 

The report of this outbreak was transmitted to England as proof that 
Massachusetts was almost in a state of insurrection, and it was resolved 
by the ministry to send troops to overawe " the insolent town of Boston," 
and to hold IVIassachusetts as a conquered country. A regiment of regu- 
lars under General Gage reached Boston in September, 1768, but the 
assembly refused to provide quarters or food, or the other necessaries 
which were demanded by their commander in accordance with the 
"Quartering Act." General Gage was obliged to encamp a part of his 
men on Boston Common, while he lodged the rest temporarily in Faneuil 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



407 



Hall. With considerable difficulty he hired several houses in Boston 
and quartered his troops in them. The assembly of New York also 
refused to provide food or quarters for the royal troops, and M^as dissolved 
by the governor of the province. 

The wrath of the English officials was concentrated upon Boston, which 
was held as though it were a conquered city. Sentinels were placed at 
the street corners, and the citizens were challenged by them as they went 
about their daily duties. The ill-feeling between the citizens and the 
troops gave rise to several encounters between them. On the evening of 
the 2d of March, 1770, a sentinel was attacked by the mob. A detach- 
ment of troops was sent to his aid, and was stoned by the mob. At 
length a soldier fired his musket at the crowd and his comrades poured 
in a volley, killing three and wounding five citizens. The city was thrown 




THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 



into an uproar, the alarm bells were rung, and crowds poured into the 
streets. The danger of a general collision was very great, but the people 
were persuaded to disperse upon the promise of Hutchinson, the gov- 
ernor, that justice should be done. This outbreak was known at the 
time as " the Boston Massacre." The next morning a meeting of the 
citizens was held at Faneuil Hall. Resolutions were passed, demanding 
the removal of the troops from the city to the fort on Castle island, and 
the arraignment before the civil courts of Captain Preston, the officer 
who ordered the troops to fire. The soldiers were removed from the 
town as the only means of preserving the peace, and Captain Preston 
and six of his men were arraigned for murder. John Adams and Jasiah 
Quincy, two leaders of the patriot party, undertook the defence of the 
accused officer and* his men in order to make sure that they should have 
a fair trial. They were acquitted of murder, but two of the soldiers 



408 mSTORT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

were convicted of manslaughter. The calmness and deliberation with 
which this trial was conducted had a happy effect in England, and 
exhibited the fairness and moderation of the colonists in the most favor- 
able light. 

The British merchants now began to feel the effect of the non-impor- 
tation associations of the Americans, and their trade suffered even more 
than it had done in the times of the Stamp Act, in consequence of the 
cessation of orders for goods from the colonies. They now began to sus- 
tain the demand of the colonists for the repeal of the unjust taxes. Lord 
North, who was now prime minister, was willing to grant their demand, 
and to remove all the taxes except the duty on tea, which he retained at 
the express command of the king, Avho had now recovered his reason, and 
was the real director of the policy of his government. George III. 
held on with the most stubborn tenacity to the assertion of his right to 
tax the colonies, and insisted " that there should be always one tax, at 
least, to keep up the right of taxing." This concession was made in 
May, 1770, and for nearly a year there was a lull in the excitement. 
The matter was not settled, however, for the Americans had not resisted 
the amount of the tax, but the imposition of any tax at all. They were 
conte^lding for a principle, not for the saving of a few dollars. 

The bad feeling which was rapidly growing up between the colonists 
and the mother country was greatly increased by the injustice and annoy- 
ance heaped upon the colonists by the royal officials. Almost every 
colony had to complain of these outrages, and the king's officers seemed 
to think they could not do their cause better service than by exasperating 
the Americans. In New York the people had erected a liberty pole in 
the fields, now the City Hall Park. One night in January, 1770, a party 
of soldiers from the fort cut down the pole. This act was bitterly resented 
by the citizens, and frequent quarrels occurred between them and the 
troops, though there was no actual bloodshed. 

Early in 1772 the armed schooner "Gaspd" was stationed in Narra- 
gansett bay to enforce the revenue laws. Her commander. Lieutenant 
Dudingston, undertook to execute his orders in the most insulting and 
arbitrary manner. Market boats and other vessels passing the " Gaspe " 
w^ere compelled to lower their colors to her, and armed parties from the 
schooner were sent ashore on the neighboring islands, and carried off 
such provisions as they desired. Complaint was made by the citizens of 
Providence to the governor of Rhode Island, who referred the matter to 
the chief justice, Ho]>kins, for his opinion. Tlie chief justice declaretl 
" that any person who should come into the colony and exercise any 
authority by force of arms, without showing his commission to the gov- 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 409 

ernor, and, if a custom-house officer, without being sworn into his office, 
was guilty of a trespass, if not piracy." It was clear from the opinion 
of the chief justice that Dudingston was exceeding his authority, and the 
governor sent a sheriff on board the " Gaspe " to ascertain by what orders 
the lieutenant acted. Dudingston referred the matter to the admiral at 
Boston, who replied : " The lieutenant, sir, has done his duty. I shall 
give the king's officers directions that they send every man taken in 
molesting them to me. As sure as the people of Newport attempt to 
rescue any vessel and any of them are taken I will hang them as pirates." 

The insolence of the admiral caused even more indignation than the 
outrages of Dudingston, and the citizens of Rhode Island resolved to 
take the matter into their own hands at the earliest opportunity. On the 
9th of June, 1772, the Providence packet, a swift sailer, was passing up 
the bay when she was hailed by the " Gasp^." She paid no attention to 
the hail, and being of light draught stood in near the shore. The 
" Gaspe " gave chase, and, attempting to follow her, ran aground on 
Namquit, a short distance below Pautuxet. The tide falling soon, left 
her fast. The news of her disaster was conveyed to Providence by the 
packet, and a plan was at once matured for her destruction. On the 
following night a party of men in six or seven boats, led by John Brown, 
a leading merchant of Providence, Captain Abraham Whipple of Provi- 
dence, Simeon Potter of Bristol, and others, left Providence and dropped 
down towards the position of the " Gaspe." They were discovered as 
they approached, and were hailed by Dudingston. One of the party in 
the boats fired and Dudingston fell wounded. The schooner was then 
boarded without opposition, her crew were set ashore, and the " Gaspe " 
was set on fire and burned to the water's edge. A large reward was 
offered for the perpetrators of this bold act. All were known in Provi- 
dence ; but in spite of this, the royal officials were not able to secure the 
apprehension of any of them. The secret was faithfully kept. 

The non-importation associations had, upon the repeal of the duties we 
have mentioned, limited their opposition to the use of tea, and the East 
India Company in England found itself burdened with an enormous 
stock of tea which it could not dispose of as usual in consequence of the 
cessation of sales in America. The company therefore proposed to pay 
all the duties on the tea in England, and ship it to America at its own 
risk, hoping that the fact of there being no duty to pay in America would 
induce the colonists to purchase it. This plan met the determined oppo- 
sition of the king, who would not consent to relinquish the assertion of 
his right to tax the Americans. Lord North could not understand that 
it was not the amount of the tax, but the principle involved in it, that 



410 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

was opposed by the Americans, and he proposed that the East India 
Company should pay three-fourihs of the duty in England, leaving the 
other fourth — about three pence on a pound — to be collected in America. 
His lordship was told plainly that the Americans would not purchase the 
tea on these conditions ; but he answered : " It is to no purpose the 
making objections, for the king will have it so. The king means to try 
the question with the Americans." 

There were men in America who fully understood that the king meant 
" to try the question with the Americans," and were willing the trial 
should come. Samuel Adams was satisfied' as to what would be the 
result, and was diligently working to prepare the people for it. He had 
the satisfaction of seeing public opinion in America daily assume a more 
enlightened and determined condition. A convention of all the colonies 
for taking action for a common resistance seemed to him a necessity, and 
he sent forth circulars to the various provinces urging them to assert 
their rights upon every possible occasion, and to combine for mutual 
support and protection. 

The news of the agreement between the East India Company and the 
government for the exportation of tea increased the determination of the 
colonists to resist the tax. It was also resolved that the tea should 
neither be landed nor sold. A meeting was held in Philadelphia and 
resolutions were passed requesting those to whom the tea was consigned 
"to resign their appointments." It was also resolved that whosoever 
should " aid or abet in unloading, receiving, or vending the tea" should 
be regarded " as an enemy to his country." Meetings of a similar nature 
were held in New York and Charleston, and similar resolutions were 
adopted. A fast-sailing vessel reached Boston about the 1st of November, 
1773, with the news that several ships laden with tea had sailed from 
England for America. On the 3d of November a meeting was held at 
Faneuil Hall, and on motion of Samuel Adams, it was unanimously 
resolved to send the tea back upon its arrival. A man in the crowd 
cried out : " The only way to get rid of it is to throw it overboard." 
The meeting invited the consignees of the tea to resign their ajipointments. 
Two of these men were sons of Governor Hutchinson, who was intensely 
hated by the people of Massachusetts because of his double-faced policy, 
which had been detected and exposed by Dr. Franklin. Until this dis- 
covery Hutchinson had induced the people of Massachusetts to believe 
that he was their best friend, when in reality he had suggested to the 
British government nearly all the unjust measures that had been directed 
against that colony. 

The first of the tea ships reached Boston on the 25th of November, 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 411 

1773. A meeting of the citizens was held at Faneuil Hall, and it was 
ordered that the vessel should be moored to the wharf, and a guard of 
twenty-five citizens was placed over her to see that no tea was removed. 
The owner of the vessel agreed to send the cargo back if the governor 
would give his permit for the vessel to leave Boston. This the governor 
withheld, and in the meantime two other ships arrived with cargoes of 
tea and were ordered to anchor beside the first. The committee appointed 
by the meeting of citizens waited on the consignees, but obtained no 
satisfaction from them. The law required that the tea must be landed 
within twenty days after its arrival, or be seized for non-payment of 
duties. The consignees and the governor had determined to wait until 
the expiration of this time, when the royal authorities would seize the 
tea and remove it beyond the reach of the citizens. The duties could 
then be paid and the tea landed and sold. Their intentions were fully 
understood by the patriots. When the committee made its report to the 
meeting of citizens, it was received in a dead silence, and the meeting 
adjourned without taking any action upon it. This ominous silence 
alarmed the consignees. Hutchinson's two sons fled to the fort and 
placed themselves under the protection of the troops, while the governor 
quietly left the city. 

On the 16th of December another meeting was held. The next day 
the time allowed by law would expire and the tea would be placed 
under the protection of the fort and the armed ships in the harbor. The 
owner had gone to see the governor, at Milton, to obtain a pass for his 
vessels, without which they could not leave the harbor. This the 
governor refused on the ground that he had not a proper clearance. He 
returned to Boston late in the evening and reported the result of his 
mission to the meeting. Then Samuer Adams arose and gave the signal 
for the action that had been determined upon by saying : " This meeting 
can do nothing more to save the country." 

Instantly a shout rang through the room, and a band of forty or fifty 
men " dressed like Mohawk Indians," with their faces blackened to pre- 
vent recognition, hastened from the meeting to the wharf where the ships 
were moored. A guard was posted to prevent the intrusion of spies, and 
the ships were at once seized. Three hundred and forty-two chests of 
tea were broken open and their contents poured into the water. The 
affair was witnessed in silence by a large crowd on the shore. When the 
destruction of the tea was completed, the " Indians " and the crowd dis- 
persed to their homes. Paul Revere was despatched by the patriot 
leaders to carry the news to New York and Philadelphia. 

At New York and Philadelphia the people would not allow the tea to 



412 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



be landed, and at Charleston it was stored in damp cellars, where the 
whole cargo was soon ruined. At Annapolis a ship and its cargo were 
burned ; the owner of the vessel himself setting fire to the ship. 

The British government was greatly incensed at the refusal of the 
colonists to allow the tea to be landed, and determined to compel the 
Americans to submit to the authority of Great Britain. Boston, in par- 
ticular, was to be made a terrible example to the rest of the colonies. A 
bill was introduced into Parliament, and passed by a majority of four to 
one, closing the port of Boston to all commerce, and transferring the seat 
of government to Salem. The British ministry boasted that with ten 




DESTKUCTION OF TEA IN BOSTON HAKBOR. 



thousand regulars they could " march through the continent," and tliey 
were resolved to bring America to her knees and make her confess her 
fault in dust and humiliation. In addition to the Boston Port Bill, 
Parliament passed other measures of equal severity. By one of these the 
royal officers were ordered to quarter the troops sent out from England 
on all the colonics at the people's expense ; another jirovided that if any 
officer, in the execution of the Quartering Act, should commit an act of 
violence, he should be sent to England for trial. The deliberate purpose 
of this last act was to encourage the military and other officials to acts 
of violence and o})prcssion by shielding them from punishment in 
America. The liberties of the American people were thus placed at the 



CAUSES OF THJ^ AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 413 

mercy of every petty official bearing a royal commission. Another law, 
known as the " Quebec Act," granted unusual concessions to the Roman 
Catholics of Canada, in order to attach them to the royal cause in the 
event of a collision between England and the colonies. 

Boston was largely dependent upon her commerce, and the closing of 
her harbor entirely destroyed her trade and brought great loss and 
suffering to her people. The outrage to which she was thus subjected 
was resented by the whole country, and evidences of sympathy poured in 
upon her from every quarter. Salem refused to allow the establishment 
of the seat of government within her limits, and offered the use of her 
port to the merchants of Boston free of charge. Marblehead made a 
similar offer. Large numbers of the people of Boston were thrown out 
of employment by the closing of Boston harbor, and their families, left 
helpless, suffered considerably. The various colonies came forward 
promptly to their relief. The neighboring towns sent in provisions and 
other necessaries of life, and money was subscribed in other parts of the 
country. South Carolina sent to Boston two hundred barrels of rice, and 
promised eight hundred more when they were wanted. North Carolina 
sent a contribution of £2000 in money, and money and provisions were 
sent from Virginia and Maryland. In the former colony, the farmers 
beyond the Blue Ridge raised a contribution of one hundred and thirty- 
seven barrels of flour and sent it to Boston. Even the city of London 
sent $150,000 to the relief of Boston. Cheered by these evidences of 
sympathy, Boston resolved to hold out to the end. 

One of the first and most determined of the colonizes in expressing her 
sympathy for Massachusetts was Virginia. Upon the receipt of the news 
of the closing of the port of Boston, the assembly of this colony passed 
resolutions of sympathy with Massachusetts, and appointed the 1st of 
June, the day designated for the enforcement of the Port Bill, as a day 
of fasting and prayer. For this bold action the governor dissolved the 
assembly. It met the next day — May 25th — in spite of Governor Dun- 
more's prohibition, in the coffee room of the Raleigh Tavern, and declared 
that an attack on Massachusetts was an attack on every other colony and 
ought to be opposed by the united wisdom of all. The assembly urged 
that a general congress of all the colonies should be held to take united 
action for the redress of grievances, and a committee was appointed to 
correspond with the other colonies for the purpose of bringing about this 
congress. The 1st of June was rigidly observed in Virginia as a fast 
day. George Mason charged his family to be careful to attend church 
on that day clad in mourning. 

In the meantime Hutchinson had been replaced as governor of Massa- 



414 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



cliusetts by General Gage, tlie commander-in-chief of the British army in 
North America. He landed in Boston on the 17th of May, 1774, and 
was well received by the people. He was a man of mild character and 
great good-nature, and utterly unfit for the task of coercing a free people. 
The determined attitude of the patriots bewildered him. He brought 
with him instructions for " the seizure and condign punishment of Sanuiel 
Adams, John Hancock, Joseph Warren, and other leading patriots ; but 
he stood in such dread of them that he never so much as attempted their 
arrest." He was greatly perplexed to know how to manage the people 
of Boston. It was clear to him that they intended to resist the injustice 
of the mother country, but they kept so carefully within the law that he 
could not take hold of their acts. They held meetings and discussed 

their grievances, but violated no 
law, and discountenanced violence 
of all kinds. He was authorized 
by the British government to 
fire upon the colonists whenever 
he should see fit ; but their pru- 
dent and peaceful course gave 
him no opportunity for so doing. 
The government at length under- 
took to put a stop to the town 
meetings of the Americans by 
forbidding them to hold such 
meetings after a certain day. 
They evaded this law by convok- 
ing the meetings before the desig- 
nated day, and " keeping them 
alive" by adjourning them from 
time to time. Faneuil Hall and 
the Old South Church were the favorite places of meeting ; but many of 
these assemblies were held under the Liberty Tree. 

In the meantime the recommendation of Virginia for a general con- 
gress was accepted by the other colonies, and measures were set on foot 
to bring it about. The need of such an assembly, which should represent 
the whole country, was becoming more and more apparent every day. 
In the various colonies delegates were chosen, and it was agreed, at the 
instance of the legislature of Massachusetts, that the congress should 
meet in Philadelphia on the 5th of September,- 1774. Martin, the roy- 
alist governor of Georgia, prevented that colony from choosing delegates 
to the congress, and General Guge attempted a similar interference with 




JOHN HANCOCK. 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 41 5 

the general court of Massachusetts. Samuel Adams, as usual, had anti- 
cipated him, however. On the 17th of June, having privately ascer- 
tained the sentiments of the members, he locked the door of the room in 
which the meeting of the assembly was held, and so kept out the 
governor's secretary, who came to dissolve the session, and who knocked 
in vain for admission. Thus safe from executive interference, the 
general court proceeded to appoint its delegates to the congress, and to 
make provision for their support. This accomplished, the doors were 
opened and the members submitted to the dissolution pronounced by 
Governor Gage. 

The act of Parliament by which the British government undertook to 
prohibit the town meetings of Massachusetts was known as the " Regu- 
lating Act." It was introduced into Parliament by Lord North in April, 
and received the royal assent in May, 1754. It was an infamous 
measure. It annulled the charter of the colony, and " without previous 
notice to Massachusetts, and without a hearing, it arbitrarily took away 
rights and liberties which the people had enjoyed from the foundation of 
the colony, except in the evil days of James II." All the power of the 
colony was concentrated in the hands of the royal governor by conferring 
upon him the appointment of all the courts of justice and every official 
connected with them. The courts were all to be remodelled in the inter- 
est of the king, and Gage at once set to work to appoint the new judges. 
The whole colony united in a determined resistance to them. In many 
of the towns the citizens would not allow the new courts to be opened, 
and in Boston no man could be found to serve as a juror in the courts 
appointed for that city. A meeting of the citizens of Boston was held 
at Faneuil Hall on the 26th of August, 1774, and was attended by dele- 
gates from the counties of Worcester, Middlesex, and Essex. It adopted 
a series of resolutions denying the authority of Parliament to change any 
of the laws of the province, and declared that the new government set up 
by Gage under the Regulating Act was unconstitutional, and that the new 
officers, should they attempt to act, would become the enemies of the 
province although they bore the commission of the king. In order to 
provide for the safety of the colony a provincial congress with large 
executive powers was advised by the convention. Gage found himself 
unable to enforce the new laws. " The chief justice and his colleagues, 
repairing in a body to the governor, represented the impossibility of 
exercising their office in Boston or in any other part of the province ; the 
army was too small for their protection ; and besides, none would act as 
jurors. Thus the authority of the new government, as established by 
act of Parliament, perished in the presence of the governor, the judges, 



416 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and the army." * Thus defeated Grage begau to increase the luir.iher of 
troops at Boston. 

On the 1st of September Gage sent a detachment to Quarry Hill, near 
Charlestown, and seized the public magazine in which the province of 
Massachusetts kept its jjowder for its militia, and brought it to Boston. 
The news of this seizure roused the people of the surrounding counties to 
a liigh state of indignation. A body of several thousand of the best 
citizens of Middlesex, " leaving their guns in the rear," marched to Cam- 
bridge to protest against the outrage. They coriipelled Danforth, a 
county judge and a member of Gage's council, Phipps, the high sheriff, 
and Oliver, the lieutenant-governor, to resign their places. They 
attempted no violence, and inasmuch as Gage had acted within the letter 
of the law in removing the powder, dispersed quietly, satisfied for the 
time with their protest. Their demonstration thoroughly alarmed Gage, 
who kept the troops in Boston under arms all night, posted cannon to 
command the approaches to the town, and doubled all the guards. At 
the same time he wrote to England for reinforcements. 

The news of the seizure of the IMassachusetts powder spread rapidly 
through the province and into the adjoining colonies. The seizure was 
made on Thursday morning, and by Saturday morning twenty thousand 
men were under arms and advancing upon Boston. They were stopped 
by expresses from the patriots at Boston, but their prompt action showed 
the spirit of the province. When the news reached Israel Putnam, in 
his home in Connecticut, the old hero at once called on the militia to go 
with him to the aid of Boston, where the report said the people had been 
fired on by the royal troops and shipping. His call was answered by 
thousands, but later advices from Boston put a stop to the march. " But 
for counter intelligence," wrote Putnam to the patriots at Boston, " we 
should have had forty thousand men, well equipped and ready to march 
this morning. Send a written express to the foreman of this committee 
when you have occasion of our martial assistance ; we shall attend your 
summons, and shall glory in having a share in the honor of ridding our 
country of the yoke of tyranny which our forefathers have not borne, 
neither will we. And we much desire you to keep a strict guard over 
the remainder of your powder, for that must be the great means, under 
God, of the salvation of our country." 

The excitement was not without its good results, however. It led 
every man to examine the condition of his means of resistance, and to 
supply his deficiencies in arms and equipments. The royal authority 

* Bancroft. 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



4V 



was at an end outside of Boston, and active royalists found it best to 
seek safety wltliin that city. 

The general congress, or, as it is better known, the Old Continental 
Congress, met in Carpenter's Hall, in Philadelphia, on the 5th of Sep- 
tember, 1774. It numbered fifty-five members, consisting of delegates 
from every colony save Georgia, whose governor had prevented the elec- 
tion of delegates. Among the members were many of the most eminent 
men in the land. From Virginia came George Washington, Patrick 
Henry, and Richard Henry Lee ; from Massachusetts Samuel Adams 
and John Adams ; from New York Philip Livingston, John Jay, and 
William Livingston ; from Rhode Island the venerable Stephen Hop- 
kins; from Connecticut Roger Sherman; from South Carolina Edward 




carpenter's hall, PHILADELPHIA. 

and John Rutledge and Christopher Gradsden ; and from New Jersey the 
Rev. John AVitherspoon, the President of Princeton College. The mem- 
bers of this illustrious body were not strangers to each other, though the 
majority of them met now for the first time. They had corresponded 
with each other, and had discussed their wrongs so thoroughly that each 
was well acquainted with the sentiments of his colleagues, and all were 
bound together by a common sympathy. 

The congress was organized by the election of Peyton Randolph, of 

Virginia, as speaker. Charles Thomson, of Pennsylvania, an Irishman 

by birth, and the principal of the Quaker High School in Philadelphia, 

was then chosen secretary. It was proposed to oj)en the sessions with 

27 



418 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

prayer. Some of the members thought this might be inexpedient, as all 
the delegates might not be able to join in the same form of worship. Up 
rose Samuel Adams, in whose great soul there was not a grain of sham. 
He was a strict Congregationalist. " I am no bigot," he said. " I can 
hear a prayer from a man of piety and virtue, whatever may be his cloth, 
provided he is at the same time a friend to his country." On his motion 
the Rev, Mr. Duche, an Episcopal clergyman of Philadelphia, was in- 
vited to act as chaplain. Mr. Duch^ accepted the invitation. 

When the congress assembled the next morning all was anxiety and 
apprehension, for the rumor of the attack upon Boston, which had reached 
Putnam and aroused Connecticut, had gotten as far as Philadelphia. 
The chaplain opened the session by reading the thirty-fifth Psalm, which 
seemed, as John Adams said, ordained by Heaven to be read that morn- 
ing, and then broke forth into an extempore prayer of great fervor and 
eloquence. At the close of the prayer a deep silence prevailed in the 
hall. It was broken by Patrick Henry, who rose to open the day's pro- 
ceedings. He began slowly and hesitatingly at first, " as if borne down 
by the weight of his subject," but as he proceeded he rose grandly to the 
duty of the occasion, and in a speech of masterly eloquence he recited the 
Avrongs of the American colonies at the hands of Great Britain, and de- 
clared that all government in America was dissolved, and urged upon the 
congress the necessity of forming a new government for the colonies. 
Towards the close of his speech he struck a chord which answered in 
every heart. " British oppression," he exclaimed, " has effaced the boun- 
daries of the several colonies ; the distinctions between Virginians, Penn- 
sylvanians. New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I am not 
a Virginian, biit an American." The deputies were astonished at his 
clequence, as well as at the magnitude of the interests with which they 
were intrusted. 

The congress continued its sessions for seven weeks. It had no 
authority to bind the colonies to any course ; its powers were merely ad- 
visory, and it did not transcend its authority. It drew up a Declaration 
of Rights, in which it defined the natural rights of man to be the enjoy- 
ment of life, liberty, and property. It claimed for the Americans, as 
British subjects, the right to participate in the making of their laws, and 
the levying of taxes upon their own people. The right of trial by jury in 
the immediate vicinity of the scene of the alleged offence, and the right 
of holding public meetings and petitioning for the redress of grievances, 
were solemnly asserted. A protest was entered against the maintaining 
of standing armies in America without the consent of the colonies, and 
against eleven specified acts passed since the opening of the reign of 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



419 



George III., as violative of the rights of the colonies. The declaration 
concluded with the solemn warning, " To these grievous acts and measures 
Americans cannot submit." 

Congress then addressed itself to a plan for obtaining redress. It was 
agreed to form an "American Association," whose members were to 
pledge themselves not to trade with Great Britain or the West Indies, or 
with persons engaged in the slave trade ; not to use tea or any British 
goods ; and not to trade with any colony which should refuse to join the 




association. For the purpose of enforcing the objects of this association 
committees were to be appointed in the various parts of the country to see 
that its provisions were carried into effect. 

Other papers were adopted by the congress, setting forth its views 
more clearly. A petition to the king was prepared by John Dickinson, 
of Pennsylvania, who also drafted an address to the people of Canada. 
A memorial to the people of the colonies was written by Richard Henry 
Lee, of Virginia, and an address to the people of Great Britain by John 
Jay, of New York. These papers were forwarded to England to be laid 



420 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

before the British government, and on the 26th of October the congress 
adjourned to meet on the 10th of May, 1775. 

In January, 1775, Lord North presented the papers adopted by congress 
to the House of Commons, and at the same time they were laid before 
the House of Lords by Lord Dartmouth. The venerable Earl of Chatham 
made this the occasion of a powerful appeal to the majority in Parliament 
to reverse their arbitrary course towards the Americans before it should 
be too late. Referring to the papers laid before the House, he said : 
" When your lordships look at the papers transmitted us from America, 
when you consider their decency, firmness and wisdom, you cannot but 
respect their cause and wish to make it your own. For myself, I must 
avow, that in all my reading — and I have read Thucydides, and have 
studied and admired the master states of the world — for solidity of 
reason, force of sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion under a complication 
of difficult circumstances, no nation or body of men can stand in prefer- 
ence to the general congress at Philadelphia. The histories of Greece and 
Rome give us nothing equal to it, and all attempts to impose servitude 
upon such a mighty continental nation must be in vain. We shall be 
forced ultimately to retract ; let us retract while we can, not when we 
must. These violent acts must be repealed ; you will repeal them ; I 
pledge myself for it, I stake my reputation on it, that you will in the end 
repeal them. Avoid, then, this humiliating necessity." 

The king was furious when the words of the greatest statesman of his 
kingdom were repeated to him. Neither the wisdom nor the eloquence 
of Chatham could turn the king or the ministers from their mad course. 
They had but one plan for America now. She must submit humbly to 
their will ; if she should resist, she must be crushed into submission. 
The king meant to try the question with the Americans. 




CHAPTER XXYI. 

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

Gage fortifies Boston Neck — He summons the General Court — Recalls his Proclamation — 
The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts — It takes Measures for Defence — The Militia 
Organized — The Minute Men — Friends of America in England — Gage resolves to seize 
the Stoi-es at Concord — Midnight March of the British Troops — The Alarm given — Skir- 
mishes at Lexington and Concord — Retreat of the British — A terrible March — Uprising 
of New England — Boston Invested — Dunmore seizes the Virginia Powder — Is made to 
pay for it — Uprising of the Middle and Southern Colonies — The Mecklenburg Declara- 
tion of Independence — Capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point — Meeting of the 
Second Continental_Congress — Congress resolves to sustain Massachusetts — Renewed 
Efforts for Peace — Congress assumes the General Government of the Colonies — A Federal 
Union Organized — Its Character — A Continental Army formed — George Washington 
appointed Commander-in-chief— General Officers appointed — Condition of the Army 
before Boston — Inaction of Gage — Battle of Breed's Hill — A glorious Defence — Tlie 
Battle equivalent to a Victory in its effects upon the Country — Arrival of Washington 
at Cambridge — He takes Command of the Army — He reorganizes the Army — Difficul- 
ties of the undertaking — The Invasion of Canada resolved upon — March of Montgomery 
and Arnold — Rapid Successes of Montgomery — He captures Montreal — March of 
Arnold through the Wilderness — Arrival before Quebec — Forms a Junction with Mont- 
gomery — The Siege of Quebec — The Ice Forts — Failure of the Attack — Death of Mont- 
gomery — Retreat of the Americans from Canada — Lord Dunmore's War in Virginia — 
Destruction of Norfolk — The Thirteen United Colonies — Burning of Falmouth — Naval 
Matters — Action of Great Britain — The War to be carried on — Tlie Hessians. 

HILE the Continental Congress was in session, matters were in a 
most serious state in INIassaeliusetts. General Gage, alarmed by 
the threatening aspect of the Americans, began to fortify Boston 
Neck, the narrow" peninsula \vhich united the city with the main 
land. A regiment was stationed at these works to prevent com- 
munication between the citizens and the people in the country. The 
news of this action spread rapidly. At Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a 
company of volunteers seized the fort and carried off one hundred and 
fifty barrels of powder and several cannon. At Newport forty-four 
cannon ^vere seized by the people and sent to Providence for safe- 
keeping. 

In the midst of this excitement. Gage, thinking such a step might con- 
ciliate the people, summoned the general court to meet at Salem ; but 
alarmed at the growing spirit of liberty, countermanded the order. The 

421 




422 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



members of the general court met, however, at Salem, on the 5th of 
October, 1774, but finding no one to organize them adjourned to Concord, 
^vhere they resolved themselves into a provincial congress, of which John 
Hancock was elected president. This congress existed as the government 
of the people, and was independent of the authority of the king. They 
protested their loyalty to King George, and their desire for peace, and 
endeavored to induce Gage to desist from fortifying Boston Neck. Gage 

refused to comply with their de- 
mand, and warned them to desist 
from their unlawful ceurse. The 
provincial congress paid no atten- 
tion to his warning, but proceeded 
to call out the militia to the num- 
ber of twelve thousand. They 
were allowed to remain at their 
homes, but were required to be 
ready for service at a minute's 
warning. Hence they were known 
as " Minute ]\Ieu." Two com- 
mittees of safety were appointed : 
one to call out the minute men 
when their services were needed ; 
the other to supply them with 
provisions and ammunition. Two 
general officers, Artemas Ward 
and Seth Pomeroy, were ap- 
pointed. The other New Eng- 
land colonies were invited to in- 
crease the number of minute men 
to twenty thousand. The sum 
of £20,000 was voted for the 
military service, and Massachu- 
setts prepared for the worst. In 
every colony military prepara- 
tions were set on foot, and the whole of America began to prepare for the 
coming storm which all thinking men now saw was close at hand. 

The papers drawn up by the Continental Congress had been widely 
circulated in England, and had aroused a great deal of sympathy for 
America, and it was hoped by many that the new Parliament, which met 
in January, 1775, would see the necessity of doing justice to the colonies. 
The cause of America was eloquently pleaded by the Earl of Chatham 




THE MINUTE MAN, 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 423 

and others, but the king and the ministers were resolved to compel the 
submission of the Americans, and the majority in Parliament sustained 
them. A measure known as the "New England Restraining Bill" was in- 
troduced by Lord North, which deprived the people of New England of 
the privilege of fishing on the banks of Newfoundland. In March news 
arrived that all the colonies had indorsed the action of the Continental 
Congress, and had pledged themselves to support it. To punish them the 
provisions of the Restraining Bill were extended to every colony save 
New York, Delaware, and North Carolina. These colonies were ex- 
empted in the hope of inducing tliem to desert the American cause. The 
measure failed of its object; and the three favored colonies remained 
firm in their support of the congress. 

General Gage now resolved to take a decisive step. He learned that 
the patriots had established a depot of provisions and military stores at 
Concord, eighteen miles from Boston, and resolved to seize these supplies 
at once. The military force under his command at Boston numbered 
three thousand men, and he felt himself strong enough, not only to seize 
these stores, but also to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams, who 
were lodging at Lexington. Accordingly, on the night of the 18th of 
April, 1775, he detached a force of eight hundred men under Lieutenant- 
Colonel Smith, and shortly before midnight had them conveyed across 
Charles river to Cambridge, from which place they began their march to 
Concord. Gage had conducted the whole movement with the greatest 
secrecy, but his preparations had been detected by the patriot leaders in 
Boston, and Hancock and Adams had been warned of their danger. 
The British had hardly embarked in their boats when two lanterns were 
displayed from the tower of the Old North Church. Paul Revere, the 
chosen messenger, who had been awaiting this signal, at once set off from 
Charlestown and rode ^ in haste to Lexington to warn the patriots of the 
approach of the British troops. At the same time William Dawes left 
Boston by the road over the Neck, and rode at full speed towards Lex- 
ington, arousing the country as he went along with his stirring tidings. 
Other messengers were sent forward by these men, and the alarm spread 
rapidly through the country. 

From Cambridge the British pushed forward rapidly towards Lexing- 
ton. They had not gone far when they heard in advance of them the 
firing of alarm guns, and the tolling of bells. The British officers were 
astonished at the rapidity with which their movement had been dis- 
covered ; but they could not doubt the meaning of these signals. The 
country was being aroused, and their situation was becoming serious. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Smith sent a messenger to General Gage for reinforce- 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



425 



ments, and ordered Major Pitcairn to push forward with a part of the 
force and seize the two bridges at Concord. Pitcairn obeyed liis orders 
promptly, and arrested every one whom he met or overtook save a coun- 
tryman, who escaped and reached Lexington in time to give the alarm. 

Pitcairn's division reached Lexington at daybreak on the 19th of 
April. They found seventy or eighty minute men, and several other 
persons, assembled on the common. They were ignorant of the intentions 
of the British, and supposed they merely wished to arrest Adams and 
Hancock, who had left the village upon the first alarm. As he saw the 
group Pitcairn ordered his men to halt and load their muskets, and 







•i,~.^jXi!!X/j'/r^:^ 



BRITISH TKOOPS ON CONCORD COMMON. 



called out to the Americans, " Disperse, ye villains, ye rebels, disperse ; 
lay down your arms; why don't you lay down your arms and disperse?" 
The Americans stood motionless and silent, " witnesses against aggres- 
sion ; too few to resist ; too brave to fly." Pitcairn, seeing that his order 
was not obeyed, discharged his pistol, and ordered his men to fire. A 
few straggling shots followed this order, and then the regulars poured a 
close heavy volley into the Americans, killing seven, and wounding nine 
of them. Parker, the commander of the minute men, seeing that the 
affair was to be a massacre instead of a battle, ordered his men to disperse. 
The British then gave three cheers for their victory. In a little while 
Colonel Smith arrived with the remainder of his command, and the 
whole party then pushed on towards Concord. 



426 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The alarm had already reached Concord, and in a little while news 
was received of the massacre at Lexington. The minute men promptly 
assembled on the common, near the church, and awaited the approacli of 
the enemy. The minute men from Lincoln came in at an early hour, and 
a few from Acton. About seven o'clock the British were seen advancing 
in two divisions, and as it was evident that they were about four times as 
numerous as the Americans, the latter retreated to the summit of a hill 
on the opposite side of the Concord river, and there awaited the arrival 
of reinforcements, which were coming in from the surrounding country. 
The British occupied the town, and posting a force of one hundred men 
to hold the North bridge, began their search for arms and stores. The 
greater part of these had been secreted, but the soldiers found a few that 
could not be removed, and gave the rest of their time to plundering the 
houses of the town. " This slight waste of stores," says Bancroft, " was 
all the advantage for which Gage precipitated a civil war." 

Between nine and ten o'clock the American force had increased by the 
arrival of the minute men from Acton, Bedford, Westford, Carlisle, 
Littleton, and Chelmsford, to about four hundred and fifty. Below 
them, in full view, were the regulars plundering their homes, and from 
the town rose the smoke of the fires the soldiers had kindled for the 
destruction of the few stores they had managed to secure. Not knowing 
whether they meant to burn the town or not, the officers of the minute 
men resolved to advance and enter Concord. Barret, the command- 
ing officer, cautioned the men not to fire unless attacked. As their 
approach was discovered the British began to take up the planks of the 
North bridge, and to prevent this the Americans quickened their pace. 
The regulars then fired a volley which killed two of the minute men. 
The fire was returned, and two of the soldiers were killed and several 
wounded. These volleys were followed by some desultory skirmishing, 
and about noon Colonel Smith drew off his men and began to retreat by 
the way he had come. 

With the retreat of the British from Concord the real work of the day 
began. The country was thoroughly aroused, and men came pouring in 
from every direction eager to get a shot at the regulars. The road by 
Mhicli the royal forces were retreating was narrow and crooked, and led 
through forests and thickets, and was bordered by the stone walls which 
enclosed the farms. At every step the militia and minute men hung upon 
the enemy, and kept up an irregular but fatal fire upon them from 
behind trees, fences, and houses. Flanking parties were thrown out to 
clear the way, but without success. The number of the Americans 
increased at every step. Each town took up the strife as the regulars 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 427 

entered its limits. Far and Avide the alarm was spreading through the 
country, and the people were getting under arms. By noon a messenger 
rode furiously into the distant town of Worcester and shouted the alarm. 
Instantly the minute men of the town got under arms, and after joining 
their minister in prayer, on the common, took up the march for Cam- 
bridge. The whole province was rising, and the enemies of the fugitive 
regulars were increasing every moment. 

Smith hurried his command through Lexington at a rapid rate, and a 
short distance beyond the town met Lord Percy advancing to his assist- 
ance with twelve hundred infantry and two pieces of artillery. Percy 




THE FIGHT AT CONCOBD BRIDGE. 



formed his men into a square, enclosing the fugitives, who dropped help- 
lessly on the ground, " their tongues hanging out of their mouths like 
those of dogs after a chase," and with his cannon kept the Americans at 
bay. He could not think of holding his position, however, and after a 
halt of half an hour resumed the retreat, first setting fire to some houses 
in Lexington. The fighting now became more energetic than ever. 
From either side, from in front and the rear, the Americans kept up a 
constant fire upon the British, who revenged themselves by murdering 
some helpless people along the road, and burning houses. Below West 
Cambridge the British broke into a run, and at length, about sunset, suc- 
ceeded in escaping across Charlestown ISTeck, where they were safe under 
the fire of their shipping. Had the militia from Marblehead and Salem, 



428 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



who were on the march, been more alert, the entire British force would 
have been captured, as they were in no condition to resist a determined 
attack in front. 

The loss of the Americans during the day was forty-nine killed, thirty- 
four wounded, and five missing. The British lost in killed, wounded, and 
missing two hundred and seventy-three men, or more than fell in Wolfe's 

army in the battle of 
the Heights of Abra- 
ham. ]\Iany of the 
officers, including 
Colonel Smith, were 
wounded. 

The news of the 
conflicts at Lexington 
and Concord spread 
rapidly through New 
England, and was 
sent by express mes- 
sengers to New York 
and the colonies 
farther south. In 
New England it pro- 
duced a general up- 
rising of the people, 
and in ten days Bos- 
ton was blockaded 
by an irregular army 
of twenty thousand 
provincial troops, 
whose encampments 
extended from Rox- 
bury to the ISIystic 
river, above Charles- 
town, a distance often miles. John Stark, wlio had served with gallantry 
in the old French war, was on his w^ay to Boston in ten minutes after he 
was informed of the fighting. Israel Putnam, a veteran soldier, and as 
true a hero as ever lived, was ploughing in his field when the courier rode 
by with the tidings of the battle. He left his plough, sprang on his horse, 
and after rousing his neighbors rode from his home, in Connecticut, to 
Cambridge, without even stopping to change his clothes. The IMassa- 
chusetts Congress took energetic measures for the support of the army 




RETREAT OF THE BRITISH FROM LEXINGTON. 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



429 



before Boston, and in a few clays this force began to assume a more 
regular character. 

Matters had also reached a crisis in Virginia. On the night of the 
20th of April Lord Dunmore seized the powder in the magazine at AVil- 
liamsburg, and sent it, under guard of a party of marines, on board an 
armed schooner in the James river. The inhabitants on the morning of 
the 21st took arms to compel the restoration of the powder, but were per- 
suaded to refrain from violence. In a few days the news from Lexington 
and Concord was received, and it was the general belief that Dunmore's 
course was only a part of a general plan to disarm the colonies. On the 
2d of May Patrick Henry summoned the independent companies of 




CAPTUBE OF TICONDEROGA BY ALLEN. 



Hanover to meet him at a certain place, and led them towards Williams- 
burg, determined to compel the governor to restore the powder, or pay its 
full value in money. On the march they were met by a messenger from 
Dunmore, who paid them the full value of the j)owder 'in money. This 
money was soon after forwarded to Congress. The companies then dis- 
banded, and returned home. Dunmore, thoroughly frightened, fled with 
his family on board a man-of-war, and declared " Patrick Henry and his 
associates to be in rebellion." Afraid to meet the Virginians in an open 
fight, he threatened to arm their slaves against them, and inaugurate a 
general massacre. 

The middle and southern colonies were prompt to follow the example 



430 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of New England. The people of New York seized the provisions in- 
tended for the king's troops at Boston, shut up the custom-house, and 
forbade any vessels to leave the harbor for ports or colonies acknowledg- 
ing the authority of Great Britain. The arms and ammunition belonging 
to the city were seized by the volunteers, and mejtsures were set on foot 
for a general resistance to the authority of the king. New Jersey was 
equally determined, and in Pennsylvania enthusiastic meetings of citizens 
resolved "to associate for the purpose of defending, with arms, their 
lives, their property, and liberty." Military companies were formed, ami 
trained in the exercise of arras. The people of Maryland compelled 
their royalist governor to surrender to them all the arms and ammunition 
of the province. The militia officers of South Carolina at once resigned 
their commissions from the governor, and regiments of militia for the de- 
fence of the colony were raised and drilled. At Charleston the royal 
arsenal was seized, and its contents distributed among the people. Geor- 
gia also placed herself in the ranks of her patriot sisters, and seizing the 
ammunition and arms within her limits prepared for resistance. North 
Carolina took a more decisive stand than any of the colonies. The 
spirit of resistance ran high within her borders. A convention of the 
people of Mecklenburg county was held at Charlotte on the 29th of May, 
and adopted a series of resolutions declaring themselves independent of 
the control of Great Britain, and renouncing all allegiance to her. This 
was the famous "Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence." Tiie 
whole country, from New Hampshire to Georgia, was united in its deter- 
mination to resist the injustice of Great Britain with arms. Massachu- 
setts had struck the first blow, but every colony was now prepared and 
determined to bear its part in the great struggle for freedom. 

The Massachusetts Committee of Safety were anxious to secure the 
important posts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point on Lake Champlain. 
The possession of these posts would not only enable the Americans to 
command the entrance to Canada, but would give them the large quan- 
tities of military supplies stored in these forts. The project was entered 
into with great energy by Benedict Arnold, then commanding a company 
before Boston, and by Ethan Allen of Vermont. Allen was the leader 
of the Green Mountain Boys, a military organization in Vermont, which 
had been formed to resist the authority of New York, which claimed 
Vermont as a part of its territory. The people of Vermont, however, 
preferred the authority of New Hampshire to that of New York. The 
dispute had become quite animated when the outbreak of the Revolution 
drew the attention of all parties to more stirring events. Arnold, upon 
hearing that Allen was preparing to seize the forts, set out at once for 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



431 



Vermont, and overtook the Green Mountain Boys near tlic head of Lake 
Champlain. Producing a colonel's commission he ordered Allen to sur- 
render the command to him, but the latter refused, and was sustained by 
his men, and Arnold at length agreed to serve as a volunteer. Securinc; 
a few boats Allen crossed the lake with his little force, about two hundred 
and seventy in number, and at daybreak, on the morning of May 10th, 
surprised Fort Ticonderoga, and made prisoners of the garrison before 
they were fairly aAvake, Not a blow was struck. The astounded com- 
mander of the fort asked Allen by whose authority he acted. " In the 




INDEPENDENCE HALL IN 1776. 

name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," was the in- 
stant reply, delivered in stentorian tones. The commandant instantly 
submitted. On the 12th of May Seth Warner, Allen's lieutenant, sur- 
prised Crown Point, and secured the fort. Arnold secured a number of 
boats and, descending the lake, captured St. John's, in the " Sorel." Sixty 
prisoners were taken in this expedition, and besides two of the most im- 
portant military posts in America the patriots secured two hundred 
cannon, and a large supply of ammunition. 

On the 10th of May, the day of the capture of Ticonderoga, the 



432 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

second Continental Congress met at Philadelphia. This time they assem- 
bled in the State-house, a place more suited to the dignity of such a body; 
and calculated to give more publicity to their proceedings. No change 
was at first made in the officers of the preceding session, but in a few 
days Peyton Randolph resigned his position to return home to attend 
the Virginia legislature, which had been summoned by the governor. 
Thomas Jefferson was appointed to fill his place as a delegate. John 
Hancock of Massachusetts, who had been specially exera^ated by the king 
from all oifers of amnesty, was chosen president of the Congress. Three 
new members of note now entered the Congress. They were Benjamin 
Franklin, a delegate from Pennsylvania, and George Clinton and Robert 
R. Livingston, delegates from New York. Franklin had just returned 
from England, where he had resided for several years as the agent for 
some of the colonies. He had been in constant official contact with the 
leading men of Great Britain, and was thoroughly informed as to the 
policy of the British government respecting America. He was, therefore, 
a most valuable acquisition to the Congress. 

The circumstances under which this Congress assembled were very dif- 
ferent from those which had attended the meeting of its predecessor. 
Then there was hope that the remonstrances of the colonies would oj)en 
the eyes of the British government to the folly of its course ; but those 
remonstrances had been received with fresh outrages, their petitions had 
" been spurned with contempt from the foot of the throne," and the 
British army had begun the war at Lexington and Concord. !Massachu- 
setts, driven beyond the point of forbearance, had taken up arms, and 
had besieged the royal troops in Boston. A state of war actually existed, 
and Congress must either sustain Massachusetts, and so involve every 
colony in the struggle, or leave her to meet the power of Great Britain 
unaided. The whole country was in favor of standing by IMassathu- 
setts, and the delegates in Congress reflected this feeling. It was/there- 
fore resolved by Congress to place all the colonies in a state of defence, 
and to prepare for a vigorous prosecution of the war should it be found 
impossible to avert it. At the same time, as a last means of preserving 
peace, a new petition Avas addressed to the king stating the grievances of 
the colonies, and asking for justice at his majesty's hands. Addresses 
were also issued to the ]>eople of Great Britain, Ireland, and Jamaica. 
To the people of Great Britain they declared, after relating their wrongs, 
and their failure to obtain redress : " We are reduced to the alternative 
of choosing an imconditional submission to the tyranny of irritated min- 
isters, or resistance by force. The latter is our choice. We have counted 
the cost of this contest, and we find nothing so dreadful as voluntary 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 433 

slavery." In the petition to the king Congress denied that it was the 
intention of the colonies to cast off their allegiance; but asserted their 
intention to maintain their rights. When this petition was presented to 
the king, in September, he refused to take any notice of it. 

In view of the altered position of affairs Massachusetts consulted the 
Congress as to the propriety of establishing a regular system of govern- 
ment, and was advised to make such regulations for that purpose as were 
necessary, and to continue them as a temporary expedient until it should 
be known whether the king would allow the colony to resume the gov- 
ernment guaranteed to it by its charter. In order to avoid the trouble 
which would ensue from an interruption of the regular postal conununi- 
cation between the colonies. Congress assumed the power of organizing a 
general system of mails for the whole country, and appointed Dr. 
Franklin postmaster-general. 

From these acts Congress advanced to others still more important. A 
"Federal Union" of the colonies was organized, in which each colony 
retained the exclusive control of its internal affairs, but delegated to Con- 
gress authority to direct all matters pertaining to the general welfare of 
the colonies, such as the power to declare war, make peace, and negotiate 
treaties of alliance and friendship with foreign countries. In the exer- 
cise of these powers Congress assumed the general government of America. 
A day of fasting and prayer to God, for his assistance in the struggle for 
freedom, was enjoined upon all the colonies. All persons were forbidden 
to furnish provisions under any circumstances. Measures were adopted 
for the organization and enlistment of an army, and for the purpose of 
erecting fortifications at suitable points, and procuring arms and ammuni- 
tion. In order to raise the funds needed for carrying out these objects 
" Bills of Credit," to the amount of two millions of dollars, were issued, 
and for their redemption Congress pledged the faith of the " United 
Colonies." The provincial congress of Massachusetts requested the Con- 
gress at Philadelphia to adopt the New England forces before Boston as 
the "Continental Army," and this request was at once complied with. 
As General Ward, the commander of these troops, held his commission 
from Massachusetts, it was necessary for Congress to appoint a com- 
mander-in-chief commissioned by itself. 

AV^ith respect to this appointment the members were divided. Some 
thought that as the troops were all New England men, the commander 
should be chosen from the same section. Others favored the appointment 
of a commander who would inspire the confidence of, and be acceptable 
to, the entire country. The name of General Ward was suggested by 
the first party ; but a majority of the delegates favored the appointment 
28 



434 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



of Colonel "Washington, who was a member of Congress, and chairman 
of the committee on military affairs, in which capacity he had proposed 
the plan for the organization of the army, and had suggested the most 
important measures for defence. He had profoundly impressed the dele- 
gates with his great and commanding character, his military ability, and 
his wisdom as a statesman. Patrick Henry, on his return home from the 
first Congress, had been asked who was the greatest man in that body. 
His reply expressed the views of his colleagues respecting Washington. 
" If you speak of eloquence," he said, " Mr. Rutlcdge, of South Caro- 
lina, is, by far, the greatest orator ; but if you speak of solid information 
and sound judgment Colonel Washington is unquestionably the greatest 

man on that floor." Dr. 
Warren wrote from Mas- 
sachusetts to Samuel 
Adams, in Congress, about 
this time, that theappoint- 
ment of Colonel Wash- 
ington as commander-in- 
chief would give great 
satisfaction to many lead- 
ing men in Massachusetts.. 
John Adams was anxious 
for the appointment, and 
having satisfied himself 
of the wishes of the 
greater part of the dele- 
gates, ventured openly to 
allude to Washington as 
the proper person for the 
position, and spoke of him 
as a gentleman whose " skill and experience as an officer, whose inde- 
pendent fortune, great talents, and excellent universal character, would 
command the approbation of all America, and unite the cordial exertions 
of the colonies better than any other person in the Union." On the 14th 
of June Mr. Johnson, of ;Maryland, formally nominated Washington to the 
office of commander-in-chief, and he was unanimously chosen by ballot. 
The next day his election was communicated to him by the President of 
Congress. Washington rose in his place, and thanked the House for the 
unexpected honor conferred upon him, assured them of his devotion to 
the cause, and announced his acceptance of the great trust confided to 
him. He declared his intention to refuse the pay affixed to the office, 




WASHINGTON. 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



435 



which had been placed at five hundred dollars a month, and added : " I 
will keep an exact account of my expenses. These, I doubt not, they will 
discharge, and that is all I desire." Congress, on its part, pledged its 
hearty support to the new commander, and resolved " to maintain and 
assist, and adhere to him with their lives and fortunes in the defence of 
American liberty." 

"Washington lost no time in proceeding to assume the command con- 
ferred upon him. After a few days spent in preparation, in Philadelphia, 
he left that city on the 21st of June, for the head-quarters of the army, 
accompanied by 
Generals Lee and 
Schuyler. 

A few days after 
the election of the 
commander-in- 
chief Congress ap- 
pointed four ma- 
jor-generals, one 
adjutant-general, 
with the rank of 
brigadier, and 
eight brigadier- 
generals for the J^ 
subordinate com- f 
mands in the 
American army. 
The major-gen- 
erals were Arte- 
mas Ward,Charles 
Lee, Philip Schuy- 
ler, and Israel Put- 
nam. The adju- 
tant-general was 

Horatio Gates. The brigadiers were Seth Pomeroy, Richard Mont- 
gomery, David Wooster, William Heath, Joseph Spencer, John Thomas, 
John Sullivan, and Nathaniel Greene. 

In the meantime the blockade of Boston had been continued by the prov- 
incial army, under General Ward. These forces numbered about fifteen 
thousand men, and had come from their respective to^vns in independent 
companies, and were without any regular organization. They had no uni'- 
forra, but the majority wore their ordinary homespun working-clothes ; they 




GENERAL ISRAEL PUTNAM. 



436 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

were deficient in arms ; a few had muskets, but the majority had rifles 
and fowling-pieces. The artillery consisted of nine j^ieces of cannon, and 
was commanded by Colonel Gridley, who had directed the artillery at the 
siege of Louisburg. The Massachusetts troops were commanded by 
General Ward; those from New Hampshire by Colonel Stark; the Con- 
necticut troops by Putnam; and the regiment from Rhode Island by 
Nathaniel Greene, a young blacksmith. Save for the solemnity of the 
cause, and the earnestness and determination which animated the whole 
force, there was little to save this quaint assemblage from the ridicule 
which the royal officers heaped upon it. It did to ordinary view seem 
the height of folly to oppose such an ill-provided and unorganized mass 
to the splendidly equipped veterans who served King George. 

Yet this force, "with calico frocks and fowling-pieces," hemmed in 
within the narrow limits of Boston, the splendid army of ten thousand 
men, commanded by such generals as Howe, Burgoyne, and Sir Henry 
Clinton, which Gage had concentrated in Boston. Burgoyne could not 
repress his astonishment upon reaching Boston. " "What!" he exclaimed, 
"ten thousand peasants keep five thousand king's troops shut up! Well, 
let us get in, and M'e'll soon find elbow-room." In spite of his immense 
superiority, however. Gage did not venture to attack the American lines. 
He contented himself with issuing a proclamation declaring the province 
under martial law, and offering a free pardon to all rebels who should 
return to their allegiance, with the exception of Samuel Adams and John 
Hancock. These rebels were cut off from all hope of the king's mercy, 
and were given to understand that they could expect nothing but the most 
summary punishment. 

General G^ge now determined to extend his lines and to occupy 
Dorchester Heights, overlooking South Boston, and Bunker Hill, an 
eminence rising beyond Charlestown, on the north of Boston. The exe- 
cution of this design was fixed for the 18th of June, and in the meantime 
Gage's intention became known in the American camp. To prevent it, 
it was resolved, at the instance of the Massachusetts Committee of 
Safety, to seize and fortify these eminences, beginning with Bunker Hill. 
The more prudent opposed this undertaking as too rash ; it was certain to 
bring on a general engagement of the opposing forces, and the Americans 
were too poorly provided with arms and ammunition to hope for success. 
Others insisted that no time should be lost in securing the heights. 
Putnam was confident they could be held with proper intrenchments, and 
that thus protected the troops could be relied upon to hold their position. 
The great scarcity of amnuuiition rendered the undertaking one of pecu- 
liar daring, and it wi\s necessary to select for the command an officer 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



437 



whose firmness and discretion could be depended upon. The choice fell 
upon Colonel Ayilliani Prescott of Massachusetts, and a brigade was 
placed under his orders. 

Soon after sunset on the 16th of June a force of about eleven hundred 
men, armed principally with fowling-pieces, and carrying their scanty 
stock of powder and ball in their old-fashioned powder horns and 
pouches, assembled on Cambridge Common. Langdon, the President of 
Harvard College, one of the chaplains of the army, offered up an impres- 
sive prayer, and then the order was given to march and the column 







BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. 



moved off in the darkness. No one knew the object of the expedition, 
but the presence of several wagons loaded with intrenching tools made it 
evident that the movement was one of importance. Charlestown Neck 
was strongly guarded, but the detachment passed it in safety and reached 
the summit of Bunker Hill without being observed. The Committee of 
Safety had suggested that Bunker Hill should be secured, but Prescott's 
orders from General Ward were to fortify Breed's Hill, a lower eminence 
but nearer to Boston, and commanding the harbor more perfectly. It 
was a more exposed position than the other, but Prescott decided to obey 
his orders. Colonel Gridley, who was an experienced engineer, marked 



438 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

out a redoubt about eight rods square, and in the clear June starlight 
the men set to work with a will to construct the fortification before the 
morning should reveal them to the British. It was midnight when the 
men began their labors. A strong guard was thrown out along the shore 
of the harbor to prevent a surprise, and the men could distinctly hear the 
call of the sentinels on the men-of-war in the harbor. During the night 
Putnam came over to the hill to encourage the Connecticut troops by his 
presence, but assumed no command. 

The early morning light revealed to the astonished royalists the half- 
finished redoubt on Breed's Hill and the Americans still busily at work 
upon it. The sloop-of-war " Lively," lying off the present navy }ard, 
without waiting for orders, opened a steady fire upon the redoubt, and 
her example was soon followed by the other war vessels and the floating 
batteries in the harbor. A battery of heavy guns was posted on Copp's 
Hill in Boston, about twelve hundred yards distant, and opened on the 
redoubt. This fire was well calculated to demoralize a raw force such as 
that within the redoubt, but it produced no effect upon the Americans, 
who went on with their task quietly and with energy. Gridley soon 
withdrew from the hill, ahd Prescott, thus deserted, and without an 
engineer, prepared to extend his line to the best of his ability. He pro- 
longed it from the east side of the redoubt northward for about twenty 
rods towards the bottom of the hill ; but the men were prevented from 
completing it by the heavy fire of the British artillery. One man ven- 
tured beyond tlie redoubt early in tlie day, and was killed by a shell. 
Prescott ordered him to be instantly buried, lest the sight of his body 
might dishearten the men. To inspire the troops with confidence, Pres- 
cott sprang upon the parapet and walked slowly up and down the work 
examinino; it and issuinsr his orders. 

In the meantime the firing had aroused the people of Boston, who 
crowded the house-tops and every available point from Avhich a view of 
the action could be obtained. General Gage reconnoitred the American 
position from Boston, through his glass, and observed Prescott, who was 
standing on the redoubt inspecting the Avork. " Who is that officer in 
command?" he asked of Councillor Willard, who was by his side. 
""Will he fight?" Willard had recognized Prescott, who was his 
brother-in-law, and replied : " He is an old soldier, and \wW\ fight to the 
last drop of his blood." Gage thereupon determined to dislodge the 
Americans from their position without loss of time, and summoned a 
council of his officers at his head-quarters, in which it was decided to 
^ross Charles river, effect a landing at JNIoulton's Point, and attack the 
works in front. Generals Clinton and Grant advocated an attack from 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 439 

the direction of Charlestown Neck, which would have resulted ' in the 
capture of the whole American force; but Gage refused to place his 
attacking column between the American army at Cambridge and the 
detachment on the hill. 

The bustle in Boston as the British prepared for the attack could be 
distinctly seen by the Americans, and urgent messages were sent to 
General Ward for reinforcements and provisions. Putnam hurried to 
Ward's head-quarters to urge this demand ; but Ward, who was greatly 
oppressed by the scarcity of powder in the camp, hesitated to weaken the 
main body, and it was not until eleven o'clock on the morning of the 
17th of June that he gave orders for the regiments of Stark and Reed 
to advance to Prescott's assistance. The arrival of these troops greatly 
cheered the little band under Prescott, who had been working all night, 
and were greatly in need of food. In the meantime Prescott had posted 
the Connecticut troops behind a rustic breastwork which he had con- 
structed on the north of the redoubt. A stone fence ran down the side 
of the hill towards a swamp in this direction. Behind this the Ameri- 
cans placed a post and rail fence which they had torn up, and filled the 
interval between them with new-mown hay, thus forming a rude shelter, 
A part of the reinforcements joined Knowlton at this breastwork, and the 
remainder halted on Bunker Hill to enable Putnam to hold that point, 
the possession of which he considered essential to the safety of the force 
on Breed's Hill. About two o'clock General Warren arrived. He held 
the commission of a major-general, and both Prescott and Putnam offered 
to relinquish the command to him, but he refused it, saying he had 
come to serve as a volunteer, and took his place in the ranks at the 
redoubt. 

At noon twenty-eight barges filled with regulars, under the command 
of Generals Howe and Pigott, left Boston, and crossing the harbor, 
landed at Moulton's Point, under the cover of a heavy fire from the 
shipping. General Howe now discovered that the American position 
was stronger than he had supposed, and sent over to General Gage for 
reinforcements. While awaiting their arrival he refreshed his men with 
provisions and grog. His reinforcements having arrived. General Howe 
found himself at the head of over two thousand veteran troops, splendidly 
equipped in every respect. Opposed to him were about fifteen hundred 
imperfectly armed Americans. Gage had threatened that if Charlestown 
Heights were occupied by the provincials he would burn the town of 
Charlestown. He now proceeded to execute his barbarous threat, and 
fired the town by means of shells from the battery on Copp's Hill, 
hoping that the flames and smoke would screen thj approach of his 



440 HISTORY OF TEE UNITED STATES. 

attacking party under General Howe. A change of wind prevented this, 
however, and carried the smoke in the opposite direction. 

About half-past two o'clock on the afternoon of the 17th of June 
General Howe gave the order to advance. One division, under General 
Pigott, was ordered to storm the redoubt, while the other was led by 
General Howe in person against the rail fence, for the purpose of turning 
the American left flank and cutting oft* the retreat of the force in the 
redoubt. Prescott passed along his line as he saw the advance of the 
enemy, and encouraged his men with his cheering words. "The red 
coats," he said, " will never reach the redoubt if you will but withhold 
your fire till I give the order, and be careful not to shoot over their 
heads." Putnam had come down to the rail fence to encourage the men 
posted there, and as he saw the advance of the enemy called out to the 
troops : " ^yait till you see the whites of their eyes ; aim at their waist- 
bands ; pick ofiF the handsome coats." 

The British advanced in splendid style up the side of the hill, firing 
rapidly as they moved on. The Americans awaited their advance in a 
deep silence. As Pigott's division came Avithin forty yards of the redoubt, 
the defenders levelled their guns and took a steady aim. A minute or 
two later Prescott gave the command, " Fire ! " A sheet of flume broke 
from the rampart and tore great gaps in the English line, which reeled 
and staggered back down the hill. The officers exerted themselves gal- 
' lantly to rally the men, and once more the line advanced. This time the 
Americans suffered them to come nearer, and again drove them back with 
a fatal fire before which Avhole ranks went down. They broke in sUch 
confusion that Pigott himself ordered a retreat. The division under 
General Howe was equally unfortunate. It was suffered to advance 
Mithin thirty yards of the rail fence, and was then driven back by a fire 
Avhich broke it in confusion. The British retired to the shore from 
Avhich they had started. Greatly astonished, but not disheartened by his 
repulse. General Howe reformed his line, and after an interval of fifteen 
minutes moved off again against the works, his plan l^ing the same as 
that of the first assault. This time the Americans reserved their fire as 
before, and once more sent the whole British line reeling and broken 
down the hill. Officers of experience on the English side subsequently 
declared that they had never seen such firing in any battle in which they 
had been engaged. A deafening cheer from the patriot line greeted the 
repulse of the enemy. " If we can drive them back once more," cried 
Prescott, " they cannot rally again." A shout from the redoubt an- 
swered him. " We are ready for the red coats again ! " 

General Clinton had witnessed the repulse of the regulars from his 




441 



I 
442 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

position on Copp's Hill, and was filled with astonishment and indigna- 
tion at the sight. Without waiting for orders, he crossed over to Charles- 
town with reinforcements, and offered his services to General Howe as a 
volunteer. Many of the English officers were opposed to another attack ; 
but as it was learned that the ammunition of the Americans was very 
low, Howe resolved to storm the M'orks with the bayonet, and this time 
to break through the open space between the redoubt and the rail fence 
breastwork. His men were ordered to lay aside their knapsacks, and 
many of them threw off their coats also. A raking fire of artillery drove 
the Americans from the breastwork extending from the redoubt into that 
work for shelter, and the order was given to the regulars to advance 
with fixed bayonets. The Americans were nearly out of ammunition, 
and in the whole command there were not fifty men with bayonets to 
their guns. They met the advance of the enemy with a sharp fire, but 
their powder having given out, were not able to check them. Pressing 
on the British assailed the redoubt on three sides Avith the bayonet. A 
desperate hand-to-hand struggle followed ; the Americans fighting with 
clubbed guns and with stones. It was impossible to hold the work, 
however, and Prescott gave the order to retreat. The men fell back in 
good order. The aged General Poraeroy, who was serving as a volun- 
teer in the ranks, clubbed his gun and retreated with his face to the 
regulars, keeping them at bay by his determined action. The detachment 
at the rail fence, under Knowlton, Stark, and Reed, held their position 
until their comrades had withdrawn from the redoubt, and then retreated 
in good order down the hill, thus preventing the enemy from cutting off 
the retreat of Prescott's party. One of the last to leave the redoubt was 
General Warren, who had borne himself with great gallantry in the 
engagement. He had scarcely left the trendies when he fell shot through 
the head, thus consecrating the spot witli his blood, and leaving to his 
country a noble memory which she has ever held in grateful honor. 

Putnam had gone to the rear before the final attack of the enemy to 
collect men for a reinforcement. On his return he met the retreating 
provincials parsing over Bunker Hill. Without orders from any one, 
he rallied such as would obey him, and for the first time during the day 
assumed the command. With these forces, and a detachment which 
arrived too late to take part in the battle, he w'ithdrew to Prospect Hill, 
where he began to fortify his position. The British made no effort to 
pursue him, but contented themselves with occupying Breed's and 
Bunker Hills. 

In this battle the Americans lost four hundred and fifty men, killed, 
wounded, and prisoners. The British, out of a force of less than three 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 443 

thousand, lost one thousand and fifty-four, including eighty-three officers, 
thirteen of whom were killed. Among the killed was Major Pitcairn, 
who had ordered his men to fire > on the patriots at Lexington. The 
victory was dearly bought by the British. 

In its moral effects the battle was worth as much to the Americans as 
a success. It taught them that undisciplined provincials could hold their 
ground against the king's regulars, and inspired them with a confidence 
in their own ability to maintain the struggle. They had held their 
ground against twice their number, and were driven from it only when 
their ammunition failed. General Gage was deeply impressed with this 
lesson, and made no attempt to assume the offensive. When the news of 
the battle reached England the ministers were greatly dissatisfied with 
their victory. Gage was recalled, and General Howe was appointed his 
successor. 

Washington, who had started on his journey to New England before 
the arrival of the news of the battle, was met on the way by the courier 
who bore the tidings to Congress. He hastened his journey and reached 
Cambridge on the 2d of July. The next day he formally assumed the 
command of the army. He was received with an enthusiasm which was 
most gratifying to him, and at once set to work to place the army in a 
proper condition for the service required of it. He was fully aware of 
the magnitude of the task he had undertaken, and his letters written at 
the time indicate a deep reliance upon God for assistance in discharging 
it. The army numbered about fourteen thousand men, and was without 
organization, without uniforms, poorly armed, and imperfectly clothed. 
It must be disciplined, supplied with arms and clothing, and with 
ammunition. At the same time the enemy in Boston must be watched 
and kept in check. To make the army effective its force must be raised 
to twenty or twenty-five thousand men, and the petty jealousies which 
divided it must be removed. 

It was resolved to maintain the present position of the army before 
Boston, and to capture or drive out the British force in that city. 
Washington established his head-quarters at Cambridge, which was his 
centre, and was under the immediate command of General Putnam. 
The right wing, under General Ward, held Roxbury, and the left, under 
General Charles Lee, was at Prospect Hill. About this time the army 
was joined by a force of riflemen from Virginia, Maryland, and Penn- 
sylvania, under Daniel Morgan, who was destined to achieve distinction 
during the war. He was rough and uneducated, but was one of the 
truest sons of America. He was never found wanting in any position in 
which he was placed, and was a man upon whose devotion and integrity 
aliaolute reliance could be placed by his commanders. 



444 HISTORY OF THE U2iITED STATES. 

The winter was passed in the organization of the army. The want of 
ammunition prevented Washington from assuming the offensive, though 
he greatly desired to do so. It was necessary to observe the greatest care 
to prevent this state of aifairs from becoming known to the British and 
at the same time every effort was made to supply the deficiency. These 
efforts were partially successful. 

It was proposed to attack Canada soon after the capture of the forts at 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point. This proposal met with little favor in 
Congress until it was known that the British were assembling a force of 
regulars, and enlisting the Indians in Canada, for the invasion of Xew 
York. Then, as a measure of self-defence, the proposed invasion of that 
country was sanctioned, and preparations for it were actively begun. 
Two expeditions were determined upon ; one by way of Lake Champlain, 
the other across the wilderness, by way of the Kennebec and Chaudiere 
rivers. The first was intrusted to General Philip Schuyler, who had 
been appointed by Washington to the command in New York; and the 
latter to Colonel Arnold, who was in the camp at Cambridge, eager for 
some opportunity to distinguish himself. 

A force of New York and New England troops was assembled on 
Lake Champlain under Schuyler, who was ably seconded by Brigadier- 
General llichard Montgomery, who had served under Wolfe in the old 
French war. Schuyler moved down the lake to the Isle aux Noix in 
the Sorel river, and occuj^ied that island. In September he made an 
attempt to capture St. John's, but finding it nmch stronger than he had 
supposed, resumed his former position. Falling seriously ill soon after, 
he was obliged to Avithdraw to Albany, and relinquished the command to 
Montgomery. Reaching Albany he succeeded in securing supplies, 
ammunition, and reinforcements, and sent them to Montgomery. That 
energetic officer at once assumed the offensive, and captured St. John's, on 
the Sorel river, on the 3d of November, after a spirited resistance, and 
in spite of the efforts of Sir Guy Carleton to relieve it. On the 13th of 
November Montgomery arrived before Montreal, which surrendered 
upon his first summons. This capture enabled the American commander 
to supply liis men with woollen clothes, of which they were very much 
in need. Although it was the beginning of the winter, and his force was 
reduced to three hundred men, poorly clad, and lacking almost every 
kind of supplies, Montgomery set out without delay to join Arnold 
before Quebec. 

Arnold had left the camp at Cambridge in September with a force of 
eleven hundred men, including three companies of riflemen under 
Morgan. He was to ascend the Kennebec, and march across the wilder- 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



445 



ness to Quebec, where he was to unite his force with the army from New 
York. The march across the unbroken wilderness of Maine and Canada 
is one of the most memorable in history. It consumed two months of 
time, and was marked by intense suffering and unceasing and severe 
labor. The troops had to cut their way through an unbroken wilderness, 
ford icy streams, climb mountains, and brave the rigors of the Canadian 
winter. Their provisions 
gave out, and they were 
reduced to the necessity 
of eating their dogs and 
chewing their moccasins. 
At length, on the 9th of 
November, Arnold with 
about six hundred and 
fifty effective men reached 
the St. Lawrence, at Point 
Levi. Could he have 
crossed over to Quebec at 
once, that city must have 
fallen into his hands ; but 
he was' unable to do so, 
as he had no boats ; and 
in a few days Sir Guy 
Carleton arrived from 
Montreal, which he had 
abandoned to Montgom- 
ery, and put the city in 
a state of defence. Elud- 
ing the two armed vessels 
which held the river, 
Arnold crossed his com- 
mand to the opposite side 
of the St. Lawrence, and 

climbing the cliffs by the path which Wolfe had ascended, occupied the 
Heights of Abraham, and endeavored to draw the garrison out of their 
works to meet him. They declined his challenge, and finding it impossi- 
ble to besiege the city without artillery, he moved to a point twenty miles 
up the river, where he met Montgomery, from whom he obtained cloth- 
ing for his men, who had lost nearly all their clothes in their march 
through the wilderness. 

Montgomery now assumed the command of the united forces, which 




ARNOLD S MARCH TO QUEBEC. 



44G 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



numbered less than a thousand men, and on the 5th of December laid 
siege to Quebec. Having no materials for the proper construction of a 
battery, a novel expedient was adopted. Gabions were filled with ice 
and snow, over which water was poured. The cold soon froze this to a 
solid mass ; but, as the ice was brittle, it afforded no protection against 
the fire of the enemy's guns. The Americans soon found their artillery 
too light to make any impression upon the walls of the city, and as a last 
resort it was determined to attempt the capture of the place by an assault, 
which was ordered for the 31st of December. The attack was made with 







M.^ 



M 



GKNERAL KICHARD MONTGOMERY. 



spirit, but was unsuccessful. Montgomery was shot down while leading 
the attack on the lower town, and his column was driven back. Arnold 
was severely wounded in the assault upon the upper town, and the com- 
mand passed to Morgan, the next in rank. IMorgan succeeded in 
carrying the two batteries which defended the entrance to Quebec, and in 
forcing his way into the town ; but being overpowered by numbers was 
compelled to surrender. He and his men were treated with especial 
kindness by Sir Guy Carleton in recognition of their bravery. The 
attack having proved a failure, Arnold, whose force had been reduced to 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 447 

five hundred men, fell back to a position about three miles above Quebec, 
and held it all winter, hoping to receive such reinforcements as would 
enable him to take Quebec. 

In April, 1776, General Wooster joined Arnold with reinforcements, 
and assuming the command, made another unsuccessful effort to capture 
Quebec. Wooster was soon recalled, and was succeeded by General 
Thomas. Sir Guy Carleton, governor of Canada, was heavily reinforced, 
and Thomas was obliged to abandon the attempt on Quebec and retreat. 
His movement was so hasty that he left his baggage, artillery, and sick 
in Carleton's hands. The British commander, with a humanity rare 
among his countrymen during this struggle, treated the sick prisoners 
with great kindness. Thomas fell back as far as the Sorel, where he 
died of the small-pox, which was making great ravages among the 
troops. Sir Guy Carleton continued to advance, and defeated a portion 
of the army under General Thompson at Three Kivers. Thompson and 
a number of his officers and men were made prisoners. The remainder 
secured their retreat and joined General Sullivan on the Sorel. The 
wreck of the army now fell back from Canada to Crown Point in a most 
miserable and dishearte^ned condition. Thus ended the invasion of 
Canada, the most disastrous expedition attempted by the Americans 
during the war ; yet still one the failures of which were greatly offset by 
the heroic daring of the troops engaged. Carleton was able to occupy 
the entrances to Canada with a strong force, and to make any future 
attempt at invasion impossible. 

While these events were transpiring in Canada, Virginia was also the 
scene of war. Towards the close of the year 1775 Lord Dunmore, the 
royalist governor of Virginia, who had taken refuge on board a man-of- 
w^ar, issued a proclamation offering freedom to the negro slaves and 
indentured white servants of the patriots who would join him in the 
servile war he meant to inaugurate. With a force collected in this 
manner, he landed at Norfolk and took possession of the town. Fugitive 
slaves joined him in considerable numbers, and it seemed likely that he 
would be able to carry out his threat and scourge Virginia and North 
Carolina with a warfare of massacre and servile violence. Several regi- 
ments were raised in Virginia to drive him out of the province. The 
second of these, under Colonel Woodford, seized the narrow peninsula 
which connects Norfolk with the mainland, and on the 9th of December 
was attacked by Dunmore's forces, which were summarily defeated. In 
revenge, Dunmore returned in January, 1776, and bombarded and 
burned Norfolk, then the largest and richest town and the principal 
shipping port of Virginia. 



448 HISTORY OF THS UNITED STATES. 

On the 5th of September, 1775, the Continental Congress resumed its 
sessions. Delegates from Georgia appeared and were admitted to seats in 
the Congress, and the colonies assumed the style of the Thirteen United 
Colonies. Matters were not very encouraging when Congress met. The 
army was in need of everything that could contribute to its efficiency, 
and the New England coast was harassed with the armed vessels of 
Great Britain, which laid its towns under exaction, or subjected them to 
bombardment, and committed other gross outrages upon the inhabitants. 
On the 18th of October the town of Falmouth, now Portland, in Maine, 
was burned by Lieutenant Mowatt of the British navy. The other 
towns, warned by the fate of Falmouth, proceeded to fortify themselves, 
and escaped with nothing worse than an occasional engagement with some 
royal cruiser. 

Naval matters very largely occupied the attention of the whole country 
at this period. The only way in which the needed supplies could be 
obtained was by purchase abroad or the capture of the enemy's ships. 
Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina promptly established naval 
boards for the purpose of fitting out cruisers for this service; and among 
the first acts of AVashington, after assuming the command of the army, 
was to send out armed vessels to the St. Lawrence and the New England 
waters to seize the supply ships of the English on their way to Canada 
and Boston. A number of vessels were captured by these cruisers, and a 
considerable quantity of arms, ammunition, and other stores thus accumu- 
lated. Congress appointed a secret committee to import powder from the 
"West Indies, and to erect mills in the interior for its manufacture, and 
foundries for casting cannon. Licenses were issued to privateers, and a 
naval committee was appointed to superintend the formation of a marine 
force for the defence of the harbors, and was charged wnth the building 
of thirteen frigates. In December a secret committee was appointed to 
open and conduct a correspondence with foreign nations, or with friends 
of the cause in Europe. 

Parliament, in the meantime, had not been idle, but had enacted 
stringent measures for the prosecution of the war and the punishment of 
the colonists. The measures adopted by the British government Mere 
cruel and barbarous. The Americans were to be treated as criminals and 
as deserving of death. They were made subject to the pains and penal- 
ties of treason if captured, and could in no case expect the treatment of 
prisoners of war. The crews of all vessels captured in trading to the 
colonies were condemned beforehand to serve in the marine corps of the 
royal navy. It was decided to increase the British army in America to 
forty thousand men. Twenty-five thousand of these troops were to be 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 449 

raised, and the effort to enlist men was begun in England, but without 
success. Recruits could not be found in sufficient numbers to repay the 
effort. The ministry could not hope for better success in Ireland, as 
they had been warned by General Howe that the Irish were strong sym- 
pathizers with the Americans and could not be relied upon to fight 
against them. In this emergency the government resolved to employ 
German troops for the subjugation of America, and negotiations were 
ojDened with Brunswick and Hesse Cassel, two petty German States. The 
result was that Great Britain hired seventeen thousand troops from these 
states for the conquest of the English-speaking people of America. These 
mercenaries were generally known as Hessians, and became the objects 
of the bitter hatred of the Americans — a hatred which they fully earned 
by their subsequent cruelties towards the colonists. 

These measures were not adopted by the British government without 
opposition. There was a determined minority in England, consisting of 
such men as Burke, Barre, and the Duke of Grafton, who manfully 
sought to obtain justice for the colonies up to the last moment at which a 
settlement was possible. The corporation of London and the mercantile 
interests of the country generally were opposed to the measures of the 
government, and sought to procure a just and peaceful settlement; but all 
efforts were in vain. The king and the ministry were resolved upon the 
subjugation of America ; nothing else would satisfy them. 
29 




CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

The Siege of Boston — Difficulties of the American Army — Activity of the Privateers — 
Clinton's Expedition — Colonel Knox arrives from Ticonderoga with Cannon — Seizure 
of Dorchester Heights by Washington — The British Evacuate Boston — Iloyalist Plots 
in New York — Paper Money Issued by Congress — Gates sent to the North — The British 
Attack Charleston — Battle of Fort Moultrie — The Howes in New York Bay — Change 
in the Character of the War — Growing Sentiment in Favor of Independence — Virginia 
Proposes that the Colonies Assert their Independence — Action of Congress — The Decla- 
ration of Independence — Articles of Confederation Adopted by Congress — Lord Howe's 
Efforts at Conciliation — Addresses a Letter to Washington — Battle of Long Island — 
Defeat of the Americans — Eetreat from Long Island — Evacuation of New York by the 
Americans — Loss of Fort Washington — Washington Retreats through New Jersey — He 
Crosses the Delaware — Darkest Period of the War — Wasliington's Determination to 
Continue the War — Lord Howe's Proclamation — Its Effect — Congress at Baltimore — 
Carleton Invades New York — Defeats Arnold on Lake Champlain — Carleton Retires 
into Canada — Battle of Trenton — Happy Effects of the Victory — Congress confers Dic- 
tatorial Powers upon Washington — Commissioners sent to France. 

HE winter of 1775-76 was passed by the army before Boston in 
inaction. There was not ammunition enough in the camp to 
enable Washington to attack Boston, and the British were well 
content to remain within their lines without seeking to raise the 
sicfre. Washinjxton exerted himself to the utmost to obtain 
artillery and powder. Henry Knox, a bookseller of Boston, who had 
entered the military service of the colonics, had attracted the attention of 
the commander-in-chief by his skill in the use of artillery, and in plan- 
ning the works erected for the defence of the camp. Knox now proposed 
to go to Ticonderoga and bring away from that place and from Crown 
Point all the artillery and powder that could be spared, and his plan was 
at once approved by Washington, who urged Congress to commission him 
a colonel of artillery. At the same time he wrote to Schuyler, the com- 
mander in New York, to give Knox every assistance in his power in his 
effort to bring the artillery from Lake Champlain to Boston. Great dif- 
ficulties were experienced during the winter in inducing the troops to 
renew their enlistments. It required all the ingenuity and tact of Avhich 
Washington Avas master to remove tiie prejudices and jealousies which 
had grown up in the camp since the commencement of the blockade of 
450 




THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



451 



Boston, and which threatened to disband the army. He succeeded in a 
greater degree than he had expected. At the opening of the year 1776 
he had about ten thousand men in camp, many of whom were raw troops 
newly enlisted, and without arms. Still they were a more harmonious 
and contented force than the first army. Towards the close of 1775 the 
privateers made extensive captures from the British. Captain Manly, 
of the schooner " Lee," captured a British brig, off Cape Ann, laden 
with arms, artillery, and military stores for the British army at Boston. 
These were sent at once to Washington, and proved of the greatest ser- 
vice. Among the captures was an immense mortar, which Putnam 
named the " Congress," and 
placed in position at Lech- 
mere Point, on the north of 
Boston. 

INIatters were gloomy in- s^ 
deed. The people were anx- 
ious that Boston should be 
attacked, but such a course 
was impossible. As late as 
the 10th of February, 1776, 
Washington wrote : " With- 
out men, without arms, with- 
out ammunition, little is to be 
done." To increase the dis- 
couragement of the patriots 
news came of the defeat of 
the attempt to conquer Can- 
ada. The British were col- 
lecting a fleet for a demon- 
stration against some point on 
the Atlantic coast, and as it was not certain where the blow would fall, a 
feeling of general uneasiness prevailed along the entire seaboard. 

This expedition sailed from Boston, under Sir Henry Clinton, about 
the 1st of February. Washington, who had for some time suspected 
that it was designed to capture New York, had already sent General 
Charles Lee to raise troops to occupy that important city, and hold it 
against the British. Lee executed his task with energy, and on the 4th 
of February entered New York, and encamped in the suburbs, in what 
is now the City Hall Park. Governor Tryon, who had taken refuge on 
board a man-of-war, threatened to bombard the city if the American 
forces should enter it; but Lee informed him that the first shot fired at 




GENERAL HENRY KNOX. 



452 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Xew York -would be tlic signal for the execution of the leading friends 
of the royal cause in that city. This decisive ansAver induced Tryon to 
delay his barbarous purpose. That afternoon Sir Henry Clinton, with 
his fleetj entered the harbor. Finding that he had come too late to secure 
the city, Clinton declared that he had merely called at the harbor to pay 
a visit to his friend Tryon, and in a few days he sailed away for North 
Carolina, where the royalist Governor INIartin, who, like Tryon, had 
taken refuge on board a man-of-war, had been endeavoring to stir up an 
insurrection of the Tories, as the royalists were called. The command 
of this movement Avas to be assumed by Clinton. JMartin also expected 




SIEGE OF BOSTON. 



to be reinforced by seven regiments and a fleet under Sir Peter Parker, 
which were on their way from Ireland. To gain time, and stir up the 
Tories to prompt action, he connnissioned two retired officers of the 
British army, Scotchmen, named IVIcDonald and INIcLeod, who had 
recently settled in North Carolina, to raise troops among the friends of 
the king in the interior. They succeeded in raising about fifteen hundred 
men, and set off for the coast to join ^Nfartin. The patriots at once ral- 
lied in consideral)le force to oppose their march, and intercepted them at 
Moore's Creek Bridge, near Wilmington. On the 25th of February, a 
sharp engagement was fought here, which resulted in the defeat of the 
Tories. McLeod was killed, and McDonald was taken prisoner. Eighteen 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



453 



hundred stand of arms, one liundred and lifty swords, two medicine- 
chests, and the sum of fifteen thousand pounds sterling, in gold, fell into 
the hands of the victors, and went far toward supj)lying their deficien- 
cies. The contemplated rising of the Tories was put down in the interior 
counties, and Martin, finding his hopes of raising troops in North Caro- 
lina destroyed, withdrew with Clinton to the Cape Fear to await the 
arrival of the fleet of Sir Peter Parker. 

In the meantime a Union flag had been provided for the army before 
Boston, and was formally displayed for the first time in the American 
camp on the 1st of Ja-nuary, 1776. It retained the English cross in the 
upper left hand corner, in token of the relations still existing between 
the colonies and England ; and bore on its broad field thirteen stripes of 
alternate red and Avhite, representing the thirteen colonies united for the 
defence of their liberties. Towards the close of February the stock of 
powder was con- 
siderably increased, 
and a little later 
Colonel Knox ar- 
rived from Ticon- 
deroga with the can- 
non and ammuni- 
tion from that post. 
He had transported 
them on sledges 
across the long 
stretch of country 
between Lake Champlain and Boston, and had overcome difficulties in 
the accomplishment of this task which seemed at first insurmountable. 
The arrival of these guns gave Washington a fair supply of heavy 
ordnance, and put an end to the long delay which had prevailed in the 
American camp. The regular army had been increased to fourteen 
thousand men, and had been reinforced by six thousand militia from 
Massachusetts. 

All now was bustle and activity. The newly arrived cannon were 
mounted to command the city, and Washington was at length able to 
attempt the long-desired demonstration against the enemy in Boston. As 
early as December, 1775, Congress had urged him to undertake the cap- 
ture of Boston, and had authorized him to destroy the city if he could 
expel the British in no other way, and John Hancock, who was a large 
property-owner, regardless of the fate of his possessions, had written to 
him : " Do it, and may God crown your attempt with success." All 




WASHINGTON WATCHING THE BRITISH EVACUATE BOSTON. 



454 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

through the winter Washington had been held back from such an attempt 
by the advice of his council of Avar, which hesitated to assume the offen- 
sive with an insufficient suj)^)!}' of ammunition and artillery. Putnam 
had succeeded in fortifying the neighboring heights on the mainland, but 
had been obliged to do much of tliis work at night to avoid the fire of 
the enemy's sliipj)ing. The last obstacle to decisive action was now 
removed. Washington resolved to seize the eminence on the south of 
Boston, known as Dorchester Heights. It commanded the town from 
that quarter, and also the shipping in the harbor. Its possession by the 
iVmericans would lorcc Sir William Howe either to evacuate the city or 
risk a general engagement for its recovery. 

On the evening of tlie 2d of INIarch a heavy fire was opened upon the 
British lines by the American batteries, and also u})ou Boston. A num- 
ber of houses were set on fire, and the attention of the British was fully 
occupied in extinguishing the flames. The bombardment was renewed 
the next night. At dark, on the evening of the 4th of March, the 
Americans renewed their fire with redoubled vigor, and were replied to 
with spirit by the British, and during the whole night the roar of cannon 
went on, covering the movements of the Americans from observation by 
the enemy. The force assigned for the seizure of Dorchester Heights 
was i)laced under the command of General Thomas, and in case the move- 
ment should be discovered, and the enemy should seek to dislodge this 
detachment from the heights, General Putnam was ordered to cross 
Charles river, with a column of four thousand picked troops, and attack 
the city from that quarter. Under the cover of the heavy cannonade 
the column of General Thomas passed the narrow isthmus in safety, and 
reached the heights by eight o'clock, undiscovered by the enemy. They 
at once set to work, though the ground was frozen to a depth of more 
than eighteen inches, and by morning had thrown up a series of earth- 
works whicii entirely commanded both the city and the harbor. General 
Howe was greatly astonished as lie examined these works through his 
glass when the mists of the morning cleared away. " The rebels," he 
said, " have done more work in a night than my whole army Avould have 
done in a month." The British admiral declared that his ships could not 
remain in the harbor, as the possession of the heights by the Americans 
jdaccd the fleet entirely at their mercy. It was evident to all the British 
commanders that the heights must be recovered, or the city abandoned ; 
and General Howe determined to storm the American works that night, 
and made preparations for an attack. This movement was prevented by 
a severe storm, which put a stop to the cooperation of the fleet, and when 
the storm had died away the works had been so greatly strengthened as 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



455 



to render an assault hopeless. A council of war was held, and it was 
resolved to abandon the town. As such a step required some time, Howe 
secured the safety of his army by declaring that he would burn the town 
if his troops were fired on during their embarkation, A deputation of 
the citizens proceeded to the American camp and informed General 
Washington of Howe's determination, and in order to save the city from 
further suffering the British were allowed to depart in peace. They con- 
sumed eleven days in their embarkation. They embarked about fifteen 
hundred Tories with them, and after plundering a number of stores and 
private houses, and robbing the inhabitants of a considerable supply of 
provisions, they embarked on the 17th of March, and dropping down the 




MEDAL STRUCK BY CONGKESS IN HONOR OF THE RECAPTURE OF BOSTON. 



bay anchored in Nantasket roads. They had scarcely left the city when 
the American army, under Washington, marched in and occupied the 
place. The long siege of ten months was at an end, and Boston was 
again free. The patriot army was received with enthusiasm, and matters 
soon began to resume their accustomed condition. 

By the capture of Boston the Americans obtained possession of two 
hundred and fifty pieces of artillery, four mortars, and a considerable 
quantity of ammunition, provisions, and clothing, which the British could 
not carry away. After the departure of the British fleet from Nantasket 
roads several transports with troops, not aware of the evacuation, entered 
the harbor, and were captured. Several storeships, laden with military 
supplies of all kinds, also arrived from England, and were captured in 



466 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the same way. These captures were of the highest importance to the 
patriots. Their supply of ammunition was in this way increased more 
than sevenfold. 

The capture of Boston was justly esteemed the most important success 
of the war. It freed New England from the presence of the English, 
and enabled her to contribute men and money to the defence of the middle 
colonies. On motion of John Adams, Congress adopted a unanimous vote 
of thaidvs to Washington and the army, and ordered a gold medal to be 
struck in commemoration of the deliverance of Boston. 

The British fleet remained in Nantasket roads for several days after 
the evacuation of Boston, and then bore away for Halifax. AVasliington 
was fearful that its destination was New York, and leaving General Ward 
with five regiments to hold Boston, hastened southward with the main 
body of the army. He reached New York on the 13th of April, and set 
to work with vigor to put the city and its approaches in a state of de- 
fence. He soon discovered that the Tories in the city were in constant 
communication with Governor Tryon and the British ships in the harbor. 
Severe measures were at once adopted to stop this intercoiu'se. A con- 
spiracy for the recovery of the city by Tryon was discovered, and his 
agents were found tampering with the American soldiei^. One Thomas 
Hickey, a deserter from the British army, was hanged "for nmtiny, 
sedition, and treachery," and this vigorous measure at once put a stop to 
the plots of the Tories. 

Congress, in February, 1776, found itself obliged to issue four millions 
of dollars of additional paper money in order to meet the expenses of the 
war, Avhich were heavier than had been supposed. For the proper man- 
agement of the finances, an auditor-general and assistants were ap{)ointed 
to act under the financial committee of Congress, and it was not long be- 
fore this branch of the public service assumed the form of a treasury 
department. In April a war office was established by Congress under 
the supervision of a committee of its members. John Adams was made 
chairman of this committee, and resigned his post of chief-justice of 
Massachusetts to accei)t it. 

The retreat of Sullivan from Canada now became known, and the con- 
duct of that officer was approved by Congress, which passed a vote of 
thanks to him. At the same time it appointed Major- General Horatio 
Gates to the connnand of the army in his j)lace. Gates was an English- 
man by birth, and had joined the colonial movement in the hope of 
winning honors and fame by his services. He had served in the British 
army during the colonial period, but had foiled to receive the rewards he 
deemed himself entitled to, and had resigned his commission in disgust, 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



457 



and had come to America to reside a few years before the rupture Avith 
England. His experience and skill made him a valuable acquisition to 
the American army, but his ambition and jealousy were destined to 
cause it considerable trouble. Gates at once claimed that his command 
embraced not only the troops on Lake Champlain, but also the whole 
northern army under Schuyler. The matter was referred to Congress, 
and it was decided that Gates was independent of the control of Schuyler 
only while in Canada. Elsewhere he was subject to Schuyler's command. 

In 'the meantime Congress had sent General Charles Lee to the south 
to take command of the troops assembling to oppose Sir Henry Clinton, 
who was Avaiting off the mouth of the Cape Fear river for the arrival of 
the fleet of Sir Peter Parker from Ireland. This fleet joined Clinton in 
May, and a little later Congress learned by means of intercepted letters 
that Charleston, in South Carolina, was the object of attack. The com- 
mand of the strong 
military force which 
the fleet brought was 
to be held by Sir 
Henry Clinton, to 
whom the general 
direction of the ex- 
pedition was intrust- 
ed. Lee hastened at 
once to Charleston. 
He found there a 
force of about six 
thousand men, from the Carol inas and Virginia; but the city Avas not 
defended by a single fortification. Had Clinton assailed it at once, it must 
have fldlen into his hands, as he arrived in the harbor on the 4t]i of June, 
t\\Q very day that Lee reached the city ; but he delayed his attack until 
he could fortify his own position, and so gave Lee time to erect works 
for the defence of the city. 

The key to the American position was Fort Moultrie, a small 
work built of palmetto logs, and situated on the southwest point of Sul- 
livan's island. It was commanded by Colonel William Moultrie, whose 
name it bore. In front of it lay the British fleet under Sir Peter Parker. 
Sir Henry Clinton had taken position with two thousand men on Long 
island, which was separated from Sullivan's island by only a narrow 
creek, and was building batteries to cover his passage of the creek. His 
plan was to allow the fleet to breach the walls of Fort Moultrie, and then 
to cross his troops to Sullivan's island under the cover of his batteries, 




ATTACK ON FORT MOULTKIE. 



458 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



and carry the fort by storm. Lee, who was ignorant of the capacity of 
the soft, spongy pahnetto wood for resisting the force of cannon siiot, re- 
garded the effort to hold Fort Moultrie as madness. He stationed a force 
under Colonel Thompson on Sullivan's island opposite Clinton to dispute 
his passage of the creek, and took position on the mainland with the rest 
of his force where he could support either Moultrie or Thompson, as 
might be necessary. 

On the 28th of June, the enemy's fleet opened fire on Fort Moultrie, 
which replied with spirit, and for ten hours the cannonade was main- 
tained with great vigor by both sides. The enemy's balls buried them- 
selves in the soft, spongy wood of the palmetto logs, and thus did little 




SERGEANT JASPER AT FOKT MOULTRIE. 



injury to the fort ; but the well-directed fire of the American guns inflicted 
great damage upon the fleet. The Briti8h were finally compelled to 
withdraw Avith heavy loss, and abandoned and set fire to one of their 
ships. During the engagement the flag of the fort M'as shot away, and 
fell outside of the walls. Sergeant Jasper, of the South Carolina forces, 
at once sprang over the wall, and amidst a heavy fire secured the flag, 
tied it to a polo, and set it up again on the ramj)arts. This done, he re- 
joined his comrades at the guns. A few days later, Governor Rutledge 
presented Jasper with his own sword, and offered him a lieutenant's com- 
mission. Jasper accepted the sword, but declined the commission on the 
ground that he could neither read nor Avrite. 

Clinton made repeated efforts to cross the creek and htorm the fort 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 459 

during the battle, but was as often driven baclt by the batteries under 
Thompson. At length, the fleet having withdrawn, he embarked his 
men, and soon after sailed for New York to join the troops assembling 
near that city. 

Washington was correct in supposing that New York was the true des- 
tination of Sir William Howe after leaving Nantasket roads. That com- 
mander sailed first to Halifax, where he landed the civilians and other 
useless incumbrances he had been obliged to carry away from Boston. 
Then, refitting his command, he awaited the arrival of his brother. Ad- 
miral Lord Howe, who was on his way from England with reinforce- 
ments. In the latter part of June he sailed from Halifax for New York, 
and arrived within Sandy Hook on the 28th of June, the very day of the 
attack on Fort Moultrie. He landed his forces on Staten island, where 
he was received with enthusiasm by the Tories. A little later he was 
joined by Sir Henry Clinton from Charleston, and about the middle of 
July Lord Howe arrived with reinforcements, a large jjart of whom were 
Hessians, hired as we have stated by the king of England from the duke 
of Hesse Cassel, in Germany. Their arrival raised the strength of the 
British army in New York bay to 30,000 men. Their attack upon the 
city was merely a question of time, and under the most favorable circum- 
stances it was scarcely to be hoped that Washington would succeed in 
maintaining his hold upon New York. In the meantime an event of the 
highest importance had changed the whole character of the war as re- 
garded the Americans. 

The colonists had taken up arms to resist the aggressions of the king 
and government of Great Britain upon their liberties, and to compel the 
mother country to respect the rights guaranteed to them by their charters 
and by the British constitution. Thus far the war had been waged for 
these ends. At the outset of the struggle a few far-seeing persons, such 
as Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry, had been convinced that an aj)peal 
to arms would render the final separation of the colonies from England 
inevitable, and that such an issue was but the fulfilment of the destiny of 
their country, and as such to be desired. The great majority of the 
people, however, neither thought of nor wished for independence. They 
would have been satisfied to secure their liberties and privileges as Eng- 
lish subjects, and would gladly have continued loyal to the king. The 
events of the war had made it plain to the most skeptical that England 
did not intend to do justice to her colonies. Neither the king, the minis- 
try, nor Parliament Avere disposed to swerve from their purpose of re- 
ducing America to absolute submission to their will. They were deter- 
mined that the colonists should bear every burden of British citizenship, 



460 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



and enjoy none of its privileges save M-liat tliey slioukl see fit to allow 
thcni. 7Vnierican.s Avere not to enjoy either liberty or ju-operty as lawful 
rijrlits, but both these possessions Avere to be held by them at the pleasure 




INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA, IN 1875. 

of Great Britain. This determination was so clear that none could mis- 
take it. Since the commencement of the struggle public opinion in 
America had undergone a great change, and the jiarty in favor of a total 
and final separation from the mother country had increased so rapidly 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



461 



that it now embraced the great majority of the American people. Now 
that they had become convinced that they could maintain their liberties 
only by a total and unqualified separation from Great Britain, they did 
not hesitate to choose that course. Their choice was made without re- 
gret. At the commencement of the war a very genuine attachment bound 
the people of the colonies to England ; but the course of the royal govern- 
ment and the severities of the British commandei's in the northern colo- 
nies, and the outrages of the royal governors in the south, had entirely 
alienated the people from their love for England. 

Still there were many Tories, or friends of the king, in America, and 
the}' were active and bitter in their opposition to the patriots. From the 




INTERIOR OF INDEPENDENCE HALL. 



first the Americans regarded the Tories with a feeling of hatred which 
increased as the struggle went on, and this feeling was soon extended to 
all who fought under the royal flag or sought to uphold its cause. 

Not only had the people been gradually coming to view indej^endence 
as desirable and indispensable ; the exercise by Congress of the functions 
of a supreme government had accustomed them to it, and had shown them 
their capacity for conducting a general government for the whole country. 
Early in March, 1776, Congress granted letters of marque and reprisal 
against British commerce, and somewhat later sent Silas Deane as its 
commissioner to France to seek assistance from that country. In May it 
had formally recommended the colonies to disregard the royal govern- 
ments and adopt systems suited to their needs, and in harmony with the 



462 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

changed state of affairs. To all men it was evident that a formal renun- 
ciation of allegiance to Great Britain and the assertion of their independ- 
ence by the colonies was merely a question of time. 

It was, therefore, a surprise to no one when the first definite action 
looking towards independence was taken. On the 15th of May, 1776, 
the general assembly of Virginia instructed the delegates of that colony 
in Congress to offer a resolution in favor of the separation of the colonies 
from England, and the formal declaration of their independence. On the 
30th of May Massachusetts instructed her delegates to support this reso- 
lution. On the 7th of June Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, offered a 
resolution in Congress, " that the united colonies are, and ought to be, 
free and independent states, and that their political connection with Great 
Britain is, and ought to be, dissolved." The resolution was seconded by 
John Adams, of Massachusetts, and was debated Avith great earnestness. 
It was adopted by a bare majority of one — seven colonies voting for it, 
and six asainst it. In accordance M'ith the resolution, a committee was 
appointed to draw up a declaration of independence, and, in order that 
the delegates might have an opportunity to ascertain the wishes of their 
constituents, the consideration of the subject Avas jjostponed until the 1st 
of July. Two other committees were also appointed. One of these was 
charged with the preparation of a plan for uniting the colonies in a single 
government ; the other was to report a plan for securing alliances with 
foreign nations. The committee charged with the preparation of a decla- 
ration of independence consisted of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, 
Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. 

On the 28th of June the committee reported the declaration to Con- 
gress. It was written by Thomas Jefferson, and with a few verbal altera- 
tions was adopted by the committee as it came from his hand. It 
reviewed in a clear and comprehensive manner the causes which had 
impelled the colonies to take up arms for the defence of their liberties, 
and which now induced them to sever the ties that bound them to Great 
Britain. The declaration concluded in these memorable words : " AVe, 
therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in general 
Cono-ress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of all the world for 
the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of 
the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these 
united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent 
states ; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, 
and that all ]K)litical connection between them and tlie state of Great 
Britain is, and ought to bo, dissolved ; and that, as free and independent 
states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alii- 




VIEW TN THE GKAND CANON OF THE COLORADO RIVER. 



463 



464 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things whieli 
independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declara- 
tion, with a firm reliance on the protection of a Divine Providence, we 
niutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred 
honor." 

The declaration Avas debated in Congress, and a few passages, which it 
was feared miglit offend the friends of the colonies in Great Britain, were 
stricken out. The vote was then taken by colonies, and though some of 
the delegates voted against it, the declaration received the votes of all the 
colonies with the exception of New York, w'hich accepted it a few days 
later. On the 4th day of July 1776, the Declaration of Independence was 

formally adopted by Congress, and 
was ordered to be published to the 
world, and to be read at the head of 
the regiments of the army. 

Congress was in session in the hall 
of the state house in Philadelphia. 
In the spire of this venerable build- 
ing hung a bell, inscribed with the 
words of Scripture : " Proclaim 
liberty throughout all the land unto 
all the inhabitants thereof." On the 
morning of the 4th of July vast 
crowds assembled around the build- 
inp-, as it was kiiown that Congress 
Avould on that day take definite ac- 
tion upon the declaration. The 
bell-ringer stationed himself in the 
tower ready to proclaim the good 
news the moment it should be" an- 
nounced to him, and had posted his 
little son at the door of the hall to await the signal of the door-keeper. 
AV'hcn the announcement of the vote was made, the door-keeper gave the 
signal and the boy ran quickly to the tower. The old man heard him 
coming, and clutched the bell-rope with a firm grasp. The next instant 
the gU^d cry of the boy's voice was heard. " Ring ! ring ! " he cried ; and 
then the deep, sonorous tones of the bell went rolling out of the tower, 
and were answered with a mighty shout from the assembled throng with- 
out. The declaration was received by all the states and by the army with 
enthusiasm. Thus the thirteen united colonies became the thirteen United 
States. It should not bo forgotten that the declaration did not make the 




OI>TJ r.EI>I. OF IXDEl'EXDEXCE HALL. 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



465 



colonies independent states, or states in any sense. It was simply their 
announcement to the world that they had, each for itself, by the exercise 
of its own sovereign power, assumed the independence which rightfully 
belonged to it. 

The Declaration of Independence put an end to all the hopes that had 
been cherished of an accommodation with Great Britain, and caused those 
who were still wavering to embrace the cause of their country. It re- 
lieved Congress of the disadvantage under which it had hitherto acted, 
and enabled it to pursue a more vigorous and decisive policy in the 
prosecution of the war. There was no retreat now ; nothing remained 
but to continue the struggle until Great Britain should be compelled 
to acknowledge the independence of the states, or they should be 
reduced to the condition of conquered provinces. 

On the 12th of 
July the committee 
appointed to prepare 
a plan for the union 
of the States re- 
ported one, which 
is thus summed up : 

"1st. The style 
of the confederacy 
was to be ^The 
United States of 
America.' 

"2d. Each State 

retained its sovereignty, freedom, and independence and every power 
and right which is not expressly delegated to the United States. 

" 3d. The object of the confederation was for their mutual defence, 
the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, bind- 
ing themselves to assist each other against all force offered to or attacks 
made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, 
trade, or any other pretence whatever. 

" 4th. In determining all questions in Congress each State was to have 
one vote. 

" 5th. Each State was to maintain its own delegates. 

"6th. The free inhabitants of each State, paupers, vagabonds, and 
fugitives from justice excepted, were to be entitled to all privileges and 
immunities of free citizens in the several States. 

" 7th. All fugitives from justice from one State into another were to 
be delivered up on demand. 
30 



liHi'l 

1; II ; 

1 'II 


1 


^'Ml 


Hi 


1 !' mJ[^i\ 


Ek)j]fp4r,l^H 


^^^HH 


m^m^^MMS^t 


^^^^^^ 


^^^hbI 


IK 



DECLARATION OF IXDEPENDEXCE PROCLAIMED 
IN PHILADELPHIA. 



466 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

" 8th. Full faith and credit were to be given to the records of each 
State in all the others. 

" 9th. Congress was to grant no title of nobility. 

" 10th. No person holding any office was to receive a present from a 
foreign power. 

" 11th. No State was to form any agreement or alliance with a foreign 
power without the consent of the States in Congress assembled. 

" 12th. No two or more States were to form any alliance between 
themselves without the like consent of the States in Congress assembled. 

" 13th. No State, without the like consent of Congress, was to keep 
war ships or an army in time of peace ; but each was to keep a well- 
organized and disciplined militia, with munitions of war. 

" 14th. No State was to lay any duty upon foreign imports which 
would interfere with any treaty made by Congress. 

" 15th. No State was to issue letters of marque, or to engage in war, 
without the consent of the Congress, unless actually invaded or menaced 
with invasion. 

" 16th. When Federal land forces were raised, each State was to raise 
the quota required by Congress, arm and equip them at the expense of 
all the States, and to appoint all officers of and under the rank of 
colonel. 

" 17th. Each State was to levy and raise the quota of tax required by 
Congress for Federal purposes. 

" 18th. The faitli of all the States was pledged to pay all the bills of 
credit emitted, or money borrowed on their joint account, by the 
Congress. 

" 19th. It was agreed and covenanted that Canada might accede to the 
union so formed if she chose to do so. 

" 20th (and lastly). Each Stiite was to abide by the determination of 
all the States in Congress assembled, on all questions which, by the 
confederation, were submitted to them. The Articles of Confederation 
were to be inviolably observed by every State, and the Union was to be 
perpetual. No article of the confederation was to be altered without the 
consent of every State. 

" The delegations of power by each of the States to all the States, in 
general Congress assembled, upon a like analysis, may be stated as 
follows : 

" 1st. The sole and exclusive power to determine on war and peace, 
except in case a State should be invaded or menaced with invasion. 

" 2d. To send and receive ambassadors. 

" 3d. To make treaties, with a proviso, etc. 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 467 

" 4th. To establish rules for captures. 

" 5th. To grant letters of marque and reprisal. 

"6th. To appoint courts for trial of piracies and other crimes 
specified. 

" 7th. To decide questions of dispute between two or more States, in a 
)rescribed manner. 

" 8th. The sole and exclusive power to coin money and regulate the 
value. 

" 9th. To fix a standard of weights and measures. 

" 10th. To reg-ulate trade with the Indian tribes. 

"11th. To establish post-offices. 

" 12th. To appoint all officers of the militia land forces, when called 
out by Congress, except regimental. 

" 13th. To appoint all officers of the Federal naval forces. 

" 14th. To make rules and regulations for the government of land and 
naval forces. 

" 15th. To appropriate and apply public money for public expenses, 
the common defence, and general welfare. 

" 16th. To borrow money and emit bills of credit. 

" 17th. To build and equip a navy. 

" 18th. To agree upon the number of land forces, and make requisi- 
tions upon the States for their quotas, in proportion to the value of all 
land within each State. 

" The foregoing powers were delegated with this limitation : The war 
power, the treaty power, the power to coin money, the power to regulate 
the value thereof, the power of fixing the quotas of money to be raised by 
the States, the power to emit bills of credit, the power to borrow money, 
the power to appropriate money, the power to regulate the number of 
land and naval forces, and the power to appoint a commander-in-chief of 
the army as well as the navy, were never to be exercised unless nine of 
the States were assenting to the same. 

" These articles form the original basis and first Constitution of the 
existing Federal Union of the United States of America." * 

These Articles of Confederation were adopted, after discussion, by Con- 
gress, voting by States, and were then submitted to the several States for 
ratification by them. In the meantime Congress continued to exercise 
the powers conferred by them. By the early part of 1777 all the States 
save Maryland had ratified and adopted the articles. That State did not 
give her full assent to them until 1781. 

* Hon. Alexander H. Stephens. 



468 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Lord Howe arrived in New York bay about the middle of July, as has 
been stated. He was vested with full powers by the king to settle the 
quarrel between America and England if the Americans would agree to 
submit unconditionally to the king. Failing to accomplish a settlement, 
he and his brother, Sir William Howe, were charged with the supreme 
conduct of the war. Lord Howe was a man of amiable disposition, and 
really desired peace ; but as he was fully convinced of the justice of the 
royal pretensions, he could not understand or appreciate the claims or 
grievances of the Americans. Moreover, he had come too late. The 
American people meant that their separation from Great Britain should 
be final. Lord Howe was greatly deceived upon his arrival as to 
the actual state of feeling in America. He was received with loyal ad- 
dresses by the Tories of Long and Staten islands and the New Jersey 
shore, and was assured by Governor Tryon that the country w^as full 
of friends of the king who might be induced to join him if j^roperly 
supported. 

Lord Howe, therefore, resolved to attempt a peaceful settlement before 
proceeding to hostilities ; and issued a circular addressed to the j)eople 
of America, offering them the royal pardon if tliey would cease their 
rebellion, lay do.wn their arms, and trust to the clemency of the king. 
Congress gave to this circular the widest publicity, by causing it to be 
published in every newspaper in the Union, in order that the people 
might see that the only settlement that would be accepted by England 
was their voluntary and absolute submission to her arbitrary will. 
" They must fight or be slaves." 

About the same time Lord Howe addressed a letter to the American 
commander-in-chief, styling him George "Washington, Esquire. No notice 
of this communication was taken by Washington, and Howe sent him 
another letter addressed to George Washington, etc., etc. Washington, 
rightly considering that the omission of his official title -was an insult to 
his country, refused to receive the letter. Adjutant-General Patterson, 
of Lord Howe's staff, who bore the communication, expressed his regret 
that the letter could not be opened. Lord Howe, he said, came vested 
with great powers, and was sincerely anxious for peace. Washington, 
who had received him with kindly courtesy, replied that he was aware 
that Lord Howe was intrusted with the power to grant pardons, but that 
as the Americans were engaged in the defence of their rights, and had 
conmiitted no crime, they had no need of pardon, and his lordship's good 
intentions could not be of service to them. 

It was now plain to I--ord Howe that he had been deceived by Tryon 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 469 

and his friends, and that nothing could be accomplished save by force of 
arms. His circular had produced no effect, and he could detect no sign 
of wavering on the part of the Americans. 

It had been evident for some time that the next effort of the British 
would be to get possession of the city of New York. Their fleet already 
held the harbor, and should they succeed iu securing the Hudson they 
would be able to establish a direct comnmnication with Canada, and to 
isolate New England and New York from the Middle States and the 
South. Reinforcements were sent to Washington from Pennsylvania, 
Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware. These gave the American com- 
mander a force of about twenty-five thousand men ; but scarcely seven- 
teen thousand were fit for duty ; the remainder being disabled by sick- 
ness. Washington erected two forts on Manhattan island, one just above 
Kingsbridge, named Fort Washington, and the other just below it, named 
Fort Independence. Kingsbridge furnished the only communication 
between the island of Manhattan and the mainland, and these forts were 
erected for its defence, as well as to hold the enemy's vessels in check 
should they attempt to ascend the Hudson. On the New Jersey side of 
the river, opposite Fort Washington, a third work was erected, and 
named Fort Lee. Other forts were built higher up the Hudson to hold 
the river against the enemy and maintain the communication between the 
Northern and Southern States. One of these, called Fort Montgomery, 
was located at the entrance to the Highlands, opposite the promontory of 
Anthony's Nose ; another was built six miles higher up the river, and 
was known as Fort Constitution. 

For the defence of the heights of Brooklyn, which commanded the 
city of New York, Washington caused a line of works to be erected on 
a range of hills a short distance south of Brooklyn, and established there 
an intrenched camp. General Nathaniel Greene was placed in command 
of this position, and exerted himself with vigor to strengthen it. When 
he had matured his plans he was suddenly taken ill, and was obliged to 
relinquish the command to General Sullivan. 

The British fleet lay in Gravesend bay, just without the Narrows, and 
Washington was for a while uncertain whether they would make their 
fii-st attempt against the force on Long island, or attack the city of New 
York. It soon became evident that the capture of the lines on Long 
island would be their first care, and Sullivan was reinforced with six 
battalions, all that could be spared from New York, and on the 24th of 
August General Putnam was placed in command of the forces on Long 
island. 

On the night of the 26th of August the British crossed over from 



470 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Staten island to Long island, and prepared to give battle. Their plan 
was to engage the attention of the Americans by a direct attack with two 
divisions, while Sir Henry Clinton, with a third division, was to turn the 
left flank of the Americans and gain their rear. They hoped, if those 
movements Avere successful, to surround and capture the entire force under 
Putnam. Clinton began his march about nine o'clock on the night of 
the 26th, guided by a Long island Tory. About daylight, on the morn- 
ing of the 27th of August, the enemy made their attack upon the front of 

the American posi- 
tion, and engaged 
their attention in 
this direction, while 
^^^^ I© Clinton, by a rapid 

march, gained their 

^^^ gX/ rear. For a while 

the Americans 



ing themselves al- 
most surroimded, 
and in danger of 
being captured, they 
abandoned the field 
and retreated within 
the intrenchments at 
Brooklyn. The 
Hessian troops be- 
haved with great 
barbarity during the 
engagement, and 
a number of the 
Americans were 
cruelly and wan- 
tonly bayoneted by them. A part of the engagement was fought in the 
beautiful region now occupied by Greenwood cemetery. 

Washington hastened to Brooklyn as soon as informed of the battle, 
and arrived just in time to witness the defeat of his troops. He was 
powerless to repair the disaster, and could only look on in helpless agony. 
" My God !" he exclaimed, with tears : " What brave fellows I must lose 
this "day!" 

The American loss was very severe in this battle. Out of a force of 
five thousand men engaged they lost two thousand men, a large num- 




GENERAL JOHN SULLIVAN. 



THE DECLARATION OF ^DEPENDENCE. 



471 



ber of whom were prisoners. The British had sixteen thousand men 
engaged, and lost four hundred. Had tliey followed up their victory 
by an immediate assault upon the American intrenchments they must 
have carried them ; but General Howe believed that Washington had a 
much stronger force for their defence than was the case, and encamped 
in front of the intrenchments, intending to begin operations against them 
the next day. The 28th, however, was a day of drenching rain, and the 
enemy were unable to do more than break ground for a battery. On 
the 29th a dense fog hung over the island ; but it lifted for a moment, 
and enabled the Americans to detect an unusual commotion among the 







THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND. 



British shipping. It seemed plain that the enemy were preparing to 
enter the East river with their fleet, and so separate the force on Long 
island from that in New York. Washington at once summoned a 
council of war, and it was decided to retreat from Long island without 
delay. It was a hazardous attempt, for the army under General Howe 
was so close to the American lines that the conversations of the men 
could be heard, and the British fleet might at any moment seize the East 
river. To withdraw a force of nine thousand men across a wide, deep 
river, in the face of such an army and fleet, was a task Mdiich required 
the greatest skill. It was successfully accomplished, however. Every 



472 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

boat in and around New York and Brooklyn was impressed, and though 
the orders for the retreat were not issued until noon on the 29th, every- 
thing was in readine&s for the retreat by eight o'clock that evening. At 
midnight the troops took up their silent march from the intrenched line 
to the ferry, where the boats, manned by Glover's regiment, which was 
composed of fishermen from Marblehead, awaited them. By eight 
o'clock the next morning the entire army, with all its cattle, horses, and 
wagons, was safe upon the New York side of the river. 

Howe was greatly mortified at the escape of the American army, for 
he had regarded it as a sure prize, and prepared, with the aid of his 
ships, to seize the upper part of Manhattan island, and confine the Ameri- 
cans to the city of New York, where their surrender would be inevitable. 
Before proceeding to the execution of this plan he resolved to make 
another effort to induce the Americans to abandon their cause, as he 
rightly believed their defeat on Long island would be followed by a season 
of great depression. A few days after the retreat he released General Sul- 
livan, who had been taken prisoner in the battle, on parole, and sent a 
letter by him to Congress, asking that body to send an informal com- 
mittee, whom he would receive as private gentlemen, to confer with him 
on some measure of reconciliation. Congress, willing to hear what he 
had to propose, sent Dr. Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge 
to confer with him. They met Lord Howe at a house on Staten island, 
opposite Amboy. The only terms his lordship had to propose were the 
unconditional submission of the Americans to the royal mercy. He was 
informed that the Americans would consent to treat with Great Britain 
only as "a free and independent nation," and that it was useless to pro- 
pose any other basis for a settlement. Lord Howe thereupon expressed 
his regret that he should be obliged to distress the Americans. Dr. 
Franklin thanked him for his good feeling, and remarked : " The Ameri- 
cans will endeavor to lessen the pain you may feel by taking good care 
of themselves." The report of the interview Avas made public by Con- 
gress, and had a happy effect. It convinced all classes that England had 
no terms to offer them but such as embraced a shameful surrender of 
their liberties. 

Fearful that HoAve would seek to shut him up in New York, Wash- 
ington left a force within the city to hold it, and encamped with the main 
body of his army on Harlem Heights, at the nortiiern end of the 
island, from which he could secure his retreat into Westchester county. 
The army Avas reduced to less than twenty thousand men, and Avas dis- 
heartenetl by the defeat on Long island. It was seriously debated 
Avhetlier Ncav York should be defended or not ; and it was proposed to 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 473 

burn the city to the ground, in order to prevent the enemy from securing 
comfortable winter-quarters in it. Congress ordered that the city should 
not be destroyed, but it was evident that it could not be held. 

Washington was anxious to learn the intentions of the enemy, who 
still remained on Long island, and Captain Nathan Hale, a talented 
young officer of the Connecticut line, volunteered to enter their lines 
and procure the desired information. He proceeded to the British camp, 
obtained the information wanted, and was returning in safety when he 
was arrested by a party of the enemy, among whom was a Tory relative, 
who recognized him. He was taken to Howe's head-quarters, and the 
next morning, September 2 2d, without any form of trial, was hanged as 
a spy. He met his death with firmness, saying : " I only regret that I 
have but one life to lose for my country." 

In the meantime the British had seized the islands at the mouth of the 
Harlem river, and had erected a battery on one of them. On the 15th 
of September they crossed in force to ISIanhattan island, at Kipp's bay, 
about three miles above the city. They easily drove back the force 
stationed there to resist their landing, and secured their position. Wash- 
ington at once sent General Heath to hold the enemy in check, and 
ordered Putnam to evacuate the city of New York, and retire to Harlem 
Heights, without the loss of a moment. Putnam obeyed his orders 
promptly, and retreated from the city along the line of the Bloomingdale 
road, now the upper part of Broadway. His march was retarded by a 
crowd of women and children fleeing from the city, and was exposed to 
the fire of the enemy's ships in the Hudson. By great exertions he man- 
aged to save his command, but was obliged to leave his heavy artillery 
and three hundred men in the hands of the enemy. The British at once 
took possession of New York, and threw up a line of intrenchments 
above the city, from the Hudson, at Bloomingdale, to the East river, at 
Kipp's bay. Tlie Americans now held the upper part of the island, and 
erected a double line of earthworks from river to river, about four miles 
below Kino;sbrido;e. 

On the 16th of September the enemy made an attack upon the Ameri- 
can advanced posts, but were handsomely repulsed by the Virginia and 
Connecticut troops. Major Leitch, the commander of the Virginians, 
and Colonel Knowlton, the commander of the Connecticut regiment, and 
one of the captains at Bunker Hill, were killed. In spite of these losses 
the spirits of the troops, which had been much depressed by the recent 
disasters, were greatly cheered. 

A lull of several weeks followed, during which the Americans suifered 
greatly from sickness. They were without proper hospital accommoda- 



474 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tions, " and they lay about in almost every barn, stable, shed, and even 
under the fences and bushes." 

Howe now began to move his army towards Long island sound, for 
the purpose of marching across the mainland to the Hudson, and cutting 
oflP the retreat of Washington from Manhattan island ; and at the same 
time sent his fleet up the Hudson. His intention was understood by 
Washington, who left three thousand men tp defend Fort Washington, 
and with the main body of his army fell back to the line of the Bronx, 
near the village of White Plains. Here he was attacked, on the 28th of 
October, by General Howe, who was advancing from the direction of 
Kew Rochelle, and who was still hopeful of gaining the American rear. 
A spirited encounter ensued, in which each party lost about four hundred 
men ; and the British intrenched themselves in front of the American 
position. 

Apprehensive of an effort on the part of the enemy to storm his line, 
Washington caused the troops to spend the night in strengthening tlie 
rude works which covered it. They labored with such diligence that the 
next morning the British commander decided that the line was too strong 
to be attacked, and determined to wait for reinforcements. That night 
AVashington silently abandoned his lines at White Plains, and withdrew 
to the heights of North Castle, five miles distant. Howe, unwilling to 
follow him further, marched to Dobb's ferry, on the Hudson, and 
encamped. 

This movement of the British commander caused Washington to fear 
that he meant to cross over into New Jersey. He ' accordingly made a 
new disposition of his forces to meet any emergency. General Charles 
Lee, who had recently returned from the South, was left at North Castle 
with a portion of the army to watch Howe ; Heath, with another portion, 
was ordered to occupy Peekskill to defend the passes of the Highlands; 
and Putnam was stationed, with a third detachment, on the west side of 
the Hudson to hold that region. With the remainder of his trooj)s 
Washington crossed the Hudson and joined General Greene at Fort I-.ee, 
arriving there on the 13th of November. A force of three thousand 
Pennsylvania troops had been left to hold Fort Washington, on Manhat- 
tan island. Washington was in favor of withdrawing them at once, but 
left the matter to the decision of General Greene and Colonel Magaw, the 
commander of the fort, who determined to hold it. The result proved 
their error. Fort Washington was attacked on the 16th of November 
by a force of five thousand Hessians and some English troops, \mder 
General Knyphausen, and Avas taken by storm. The enemy lost nearly 
one thousand men, and took over two thousand prisoners. Washington 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



475 



witnessed the capture from Fort Lee without the ability to aid the 
garrison. 

Fort Washington having fallen, Fort Lee was no longer of service, 
and the commander-in-chief resolved to abandon it before it was too late. 
The removal of the stores was at once begun, but before it could be com- 
pleted Lord Corn wal lis, with a force of six thousand men, crossed the 
Hudson below Dobb's ferry, and by a rapid march across the country 
endeavored to confine the Americans to the strip of land between the 
Hudson and the Hackensack. An immediate retreat from Fort Lee 
became necessary, in order to secure the bridge over the Hackensack. 
All the heavy cannon at Fort Lee, a considerable quantity of provisions 
and military stores, and three hundred tents were abandoned, and fell 
into the hands of the British. The passage of the Hackensack was 
secured, and the army 
began its memorable 
retreat across New Jer- 
sey, closely followed 
by the enemy, under 
Cornwall is. 

From the Hacken- 
sack "Washington fell 
back behind the Pas- 
saic, at Newark. As 
his rear-guard passed 
out of the town the 
advance of Cornwallis 
entered Newark. The 
Raritan was crossed at 

New Brunswick, and Washington left a force of twelve hundred men at 
Princeton, under Lord Stirling, and pushed on to Trenton to secure the 
passage of the Delaware. The British hung closely upon him during the 
whole retreat, the opposing forces being often within cannon-shot of each 
other. On the 8th of December, with scarcely three thousand men, 
Washington crossed the Delaware at Trenton, and went into camp in 
Pennsylvania. The enemy reached the river soon after, but, as all the 
boats had been secured by the Americans, were unable to cross over. 
Lord Cornwallis was very anxious to procure boats, cross the river, and 
push on to Philadelphia, but Howe decided to wait until the river should 
be frozen, and to pass it on the ice. In the meantime, the Hessians were 
stationed in Trenton, and guarded the river for some distance above and 
below the town. 




RETREAT OF WASHINGTON ACROSS NEW JERSEY. 



476 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The American war had now entered its darkest period for the Ameri- 
cans. New York was lost to them, they had been driven from Xew 
Jersey, and their army seemed melting away. During the painful retreat 
across New Jersey, Washington had exerted himself to the utmost to call 
in the other detachments of his army. General Schuyler was directed to 
send him the Pennsylvania and New Jersey troops in his command ; but 
the enlistments of these troops were rapidly expiring, and they could 
not be induced to renew them. General Charles Lee was ordered to cross 
the Hudson and join the commander-in-chief with all speed, but he 

moved with a 
slowness and care- 
lessness that were 
criminal. Ho re- 
mained about a 
fortnight on the 
east side of the 
Hudson, and then 
began his march 
with such slow- 
ness that he did 
not reach INIorris- 
town until the 8th 
of December. On 
the 13th, while 
lying carelessly 
apart from his 
troops, at a snwU 
inn at Basking- 
ridge, he was cap- 
tured by a troop 
of British cavalry. 
The command 
passed to General Sullivan, and in a few days he had united his forces 
with those of tlie commander-in-chief. General Lee had an abiding 
confidence in his own ability, and was reluctant to lose his independent 
command by joining Washington. His natural self-conceit had been 
greatly increased by his success at the South, and he was firmly convinced 
that he alone was capable of guiding the American cause through the 
difficulties which encompassed it. Influenced by this feeling he disre- 
garded the autliority of the commander-in-chief, and subjected him to 
great inconvenience. He was not untrue to the cause he had embraced. 




GENERAL CHARLES LEE. 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 477 

but his patriotism was of a different type from that which animated 
Washington. 

The enlistments of a large part of the troops exj)ired on the 1st of 
December, and nothing could induce them to remain in the army. 
Whole regiments abandoned the service, and the handful of reinforce- 
ments which was obtained from Philadelphia fell far short of supplying 
their place. The people were disheartened, and it seemed that the cause 
was hopeless. A force of six thousand militia was raised in Massachu- 
setts and Connecticut, and was on the point of marching to Washington's 
assistance, when the fleet of Sir Peter Parker entered Newport harbor, 
and landed a force on the island of Rhode Island, which took possession 
of Newport. In view of this invasion it was deemed best to retain the 
New England militia at home. 

Washington was fully alive to the danger which threatened the cause ; 
but he was calm and cheerful. During the retreat through New Jersey 
he said to Colonel Reed : " Should we retreat to the back parts of Penn- 
sylvania, will the Pennsylvanians support us?" "If the lower counties 
are subdued, and give up," said the colonel, " the back counties will do 
the same." Washington passed his hand over his throat, and said, with 
a smile : " My neck does not feel as though it was made for a halter. 
We must retire to Augusta county, in Virginia. Numbers will be 
obliged to repair to us for safety; and we must try what we can do in 
carrying on a predatory war ; and if overpowered we must cross the 
Allegheny mountains." 

At this juncture of aflPairs Lord and General Howe issued a proclama- 
tion, by virtue of their authority as commissioners appointed by the 
crown for the settlement of the war, in which all persons in America in 
arms against his majesty's government were ordered to disperse and 
return to their homes, and all civil officers were commanded to discon- 
tinue their treasonable practices, and relinquish their usurped authority. 
A full and free pardon was offered to every one who would, within sixty 
days, appear before certain designated officials, claim the pardon offered, 
and take an oath pledging him to obey the laws, and submit to the 
authority of the king. Large numbers of persons, most of whom were 
possessed of property which they desired to save, at once came forward, 
made their submission, and took the required oath. Some of these were 
men who had borne a prominent part in the patriot movement ; among 
them were two delegates from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress, 
and the president of the New Jersey convention, which had ratified the 
Declaration of Independence. Within ten days after the proclamation 
was issued between two and three thousand persons submitted, and swore 



478 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

allegiance to the king. In Philadelphia great excitement prevailed, and 
General Putnam, who was in command there, feeling that there was 
danger that the royalists in the city might succeed in obtaining control of 
it, advised that, until matters were placed on a more certain footing. Con- 
gress should hold its sessions at some safer place. Accordingly it 
adjourned on the 12th of December to meet in Baltimore. 

The only quarter in which the Americans had been able to oppose any- 
thing of a successful resistance to the British was the region of Lake 
Champlain. We have related the retreat of Sullivan and Arnold from 
Canada, and the appointment of Gates to the command of their forces. 
The army halted at Forts Ticondcroga and Crown Point, which it 
strengthened, and awaited the development of the plans of Sir Guy 
Carleton, the British commander in Canada. 

That officer had determined to secure the control of Lakes Champlain 
and George, and then to push on to the Hudson, open conmiunication 
with the Howes at New York, and spend the winter at Albany. He 
would thus entirely sever the communication between New England and 
Kew York, and the Middle and Southern States. Sullivan had wisely 
destroyed all the boats on Lake Champlain which he did not need for his 
own purposes, and as there was no road along the shore by which he 
could advance, Carleton was obliged to construct a fleet before he could 
attempt to ascend the lake. He exerted himself with such energy that 
in three months he had a fleet of five large and twenty small vessels, and 
a number of armed boats assembled at the foot of the lake. 

Gates was informed of Carleton's design, and ordered Arnold, who was 
possessed of some nautical knowledge, to construct a flotilla and tiike 
command of it for the purpose of contesting Carleton's eflbrt to ascend the 
lake. Arnold set to work with enthusiasm, and soon had a force of ves- 
sels afloat about half as strong as that of the enemy. He chose a favor- 
able position, and awaited Carleton's approach. A sharp encounter 
occurred between the opposing forces early in October near Valcour 
island, but was indecisive, and at nightfall Carleton took position to cut 
off Arnold's retreat. The night was dark and cloudy, and taking advan- 
tage of it, xVrnold passed the enemy, and sailed for Crown Point. His 
vessels were in bad condition, however, and two were sunk on the voyage. 
Only six succeeded in coming within sight of Crown Point, near which 
they were overtaken by Carleton on the 6th of October. Arnold made 
a gallant fight with his remaining vessels. One was taken with her 
crew, and Arnold's flag-ship, the " Congress," was cut to pieces, and half 
of her crew were slain. Resolved not to surrender, Arnold ordered the 
vessels to be run aground, and set them on fire. He and his men then 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 479 

waded ashore, and by a sharp fire from their rifles kept the enemy from 
the burning galleys until they were entirely consumed. The Americans 
then hastened to Crown Point, where they set fire to the fort and the 
stores, and continued their retreat to Ticonderoga. Gates greatly 
strengthened the defences of this post, and when Carleton arrived before 
it, he found it too strong to be attacked. He therefore abandoned his 
attempt to reach the Hudson, and returned to Canada. 

A few weeks later, feeling that the lake country was safe for the winter, 
Gates, in obedience to orders from Washington, sent him part of his force, 
and shortly afterwards marched with the remainder of his troops to the 
assistance of the commander-in-chief. 

Including these troops, Washington's force now numbered about six 
thousand men fit for duty. The enlistments of many of them would expire 
on the last day of December, and it was of the highest importance that some- 
thing should be done to revive the confidence of the country before these 
men should be lost to the army. The circumstances in which Washington 
was placed required a blow to be struck in some quarter. A victory 
would be productive of the most important moral results ; a defeat could 
do no more than ruin the cause, and a policy of inaction was sure to 
accomplish that. 

An opportunity at once presented itself. The British had ceased their 
pursuit, and though they held New Jersey in strong force, had scattered 
their detachments through the State. General Howe was in New York, 
and Lord Cornwallis was at the same place, and was about to sail for 
England. Both commanders believed the American army to be too 
seriously crippled to assume the offensive during the winter. The Hes- 
sians, who constituted the advance-guard of the royal forces, were sta- 
tioned along the Delaware. Colonel Donop had his head-quarters at 
Burlington, and Colonel Rahl was at Trenton with a force of fifteen 
hundred men. Rahl was a brave and competent officer, but he enter- 
tained such a thorough contempt for the Americans that he neglected to 
protect his position by earthworks or other defences. The Hessians kept 
the country in terror ; they were inveterate thieves, and plundered both 
patriot and royalist without mercy. They had earned the deep and 
abiding hatred of the American soldiers by bayoneting the wounded in 
the battles in which they had been engaged. 

Washington now determined to recross the Delaware and attack the Hes- 
sians at different points. A force of twenty-four hundred picked troops 
under his own command was to cross the river a few miles above Trenton 
and attack the enemy at that place ; and at the same time another detachment 
under Reed and Cadwallader were to cross over from Bristol and drive 



480 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the Hessians under Colonel Donop out of Burlington. These attacks 
were to be simultaneous, and were ordered to be made at five o'clock on 
the morning of the 26th of December. 

The division of Washington M^as accompanied by a train of twenty- 
four field-pieces under Colonel Knox. The river was high and full of 
floating ice, and the weather was cold and stormy. A detachment of 
boats had been collected for the service, and was manned by Colonel 
Glover's regiment of Marblehead fishermen, who had ferried the army 
over the East river in the retreat from Long island. The march was 
begun just after dark on Christmas night, and Washington hoped to 
reach the New Jersey shore by midnight ; but the passage of the river 



WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE. 



was difficult and tedious by reason of the floating ice and the high wind 
which repeatedly swept the boats out of their course ; and it was four 
o'clock before the artillery was landed. The march was at once re- 
sumed. Washington, with the main body, moved by a wide circuit to 
gain the north of the town, while a detachment under Sullivan was 
ordered to advance by tlie river road and attack the enemy from the west 
and south sides. 

A blinding storm of hail and snow delayed the advance of the troops, 
but also concealed their movements from the enemy ; and it was eight 
o'clock before Trenton -was reached. The attack was at once begun, and 
was pressed with vigor. The Hessians were completely taken by sur- 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



481 



prise ; they flow to arms promptly, but by this time the Americans had 
gained the main street, and were sweeping it Avith a battery of six pieces. 
Colonel Hahl was mortally wounded while leading his grenadiers to the 
charge, and his men, seized with a panic, endeavored to retreat. Finding 
that they were surrounded, about one thousand of them threw down 
their arms and surrendered. The remainder succeeded in escaping and 
joining Colonel Donop at Burlington. 

The Americans lost two men killed, and two were frozen to death on 
the march. Several were wounded. They took one thousand prisoners 
with their arms. Thirty-two of the captives were officers. 

Washington now learned that the ice was so thick in front of Bristol 
that Eeed and Cadwallader had not been able to get their cannon over 
the river, and had not attacked the enemy at Burlington. He therefore 
deemed it best to withdraw into Pennsylvania, as Donop's force was still 
intact at Burlington, 
and the enemy had 
another column at 
Princeton, a few 
miles distant. On 
the evening of the 
26th he returned to 
his camp beyond the 
Delaware. The next 
day he learned from 
Reed and Cadwalla- 
der, who had crossed 
the Delaware on the 27th, that Donop had called in all his detachments 
along the river, and had retreated in haste to New Brunswick and 
Princeton. 

The news of the victory at Trenton was received with delight in all 
parts of the country, and men began to take hope. Several regiments, 
whose terms of enlistment expired on the last day of December, were in- 
duced to remain six weeks longer. Washington resolved to make an 
effort to recover New Jersey, and men of influence were sent to rouse the 
militia of that State to take up arms for the defence of their homes. 
Altogether matters assumed a more promising aspect than they had worn 
at any period of the war. On the 30th of December Washington re- 
crossed the Delaware and took position at Trenton. 

About the same time Congress bestowed upon Washington the highest 
proof of their confidence in his wisdom and integrity that a free people 
can ever confer upon a leader. On the 27th of December Congress con- 
81 




BATTLE OF TRENTON. 



482 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ferred upon General Washington, by a formal resolution, unlimited mili- 
tary power for six months. The committee, in their letter informing him 
of this act, wrote : " Happy is it for this country that the general of their 
forces can safely be intrusted with the most unlimited power, and neither 
personal security, liberty, nor property be in the least endangered there- 
by." The confidence of the country was not misplaced. Never was 
dictatorial power used more wisely or unselfishly, and never did its 
exercise produce more beneficial results. 

It was resolved by Congress to secure assistance from abroad, and on 
the 30th of December Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee — 
the last of whom was appointed in place of Mr. Jefferson, who could not 
go — were sent as commissioners to France to secure the assistance of the 
government of that country. France was not yet prepared to go to war 
with England, and the commissioners could do no more than secure aid 
in money, which was expended in the purchase of supplies and military 
stores, which were shipped to the United States. It was arranged that 
this money should be repaid by Congress in the produce of the country, 
especially in tobacco, which was to be shipped to France through a mer- 
cantile house. The assistance thus obtained was of the greatest service to 
the Americans. 




CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE YEAR 1777. 

Howe attempts to Crush Washington — Battle of Princeton — The British Confined to the 
Seaboard — Recovery of New Jersey — The American Army in Winter Quarters at 
Morristown — Effects of the American Successes — DiflBculty of Procuring Troops — 
Washington Refuses to Exchange Prisoners — His Course Approved by Congress — 
Measures of Congress — Naval Affairs — Tryon Burns Danbury — Gallantry of Arnold — 
Troubles in the Northern Department — Congress Adopts a National Flag — " The Stars 
and Stripes" — Course of France towards the United States — France decides to Assist the 
Americans — Lafayette — His arrival in America — Capture of the British General 
Prescott — Howe threatens Philadelphia — Washington moves Southward — Battle of the 
Brandywine — Washington Retreats to the Schuylkill — Wayne's Defeat at Paoli — Phila- 
delphia Evacuated by the Americans — It is Occupied by the British — Battle of German- 
town — The British Attack the Forts on the Delaware — They are Abandoned by the 
Americans — Burgoyne's Army in Canada — Advance of Burgoyne into New York — 
Investment of Ticonderoga — It is Abandoned by the Americans — The Retreat to 
Fort Edward — Burgoyne reaches the Hudson — Murder of Miss McCrea — Siege of Fort 
Schuyler — Battle of Bennington — Critical Situation of Burgoyne — Gates in Command 
of the American Army — Battles of Behmus' Heights and Stillwater — Surrender of 
Burgoyne's Army — Clinton in the Highlands. 

^REAT was the astonishment of General Howe when he learned of 
the battle at Trenton. He could scarcely believe that a handful 
of militia had captured a strong force of veteran troops led by 
such a commander as Colonel Rahl. He at once took prompt 
measures to repair the disaster. Lord Cornwallis, who was on 
the eve of sailing for England, was ordered to resume his command in 
Kew Jersey, and a force of seven thousand men was rapidly collected and 
placed under his orders. These troops rendezvoused at Princeton. 

Washington was informed of these movements, and ordered Generals 
Mifflin and Cadwallader to join him without delay. They reached Tren- 
ton the 1st of January, with thirty-five hundred men. This increased 
the American force to about five thousand men fit for duty. Upon the 
approach of Cornwallis' army, Washington took position behind the 
Assunpink, and prepared to dispute the passage of that stream. The 
fords and bridge over the creek were carefully guarded, and were swept 
by the fire of the artillery placed to command them. A force under 
General Greene and Colonel Hand was thrown forward to hold the enemy 

483 




484 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ill check, and so retarded their movements that the British army did not 
arrive before Trenton until four o'clock in the afternoon of January 2d, 
1777. Cornwallis made several determined efforts to force a passage of 
the creek, but was each time driven back by the well-directed fire of the 
provincials. Thinking that he could accomplish more the next day, the 
British commander drew oif his men, resolving to renew the attack in 
the morning, when, he boasted, he would "bag the fox." Both armies 
encamped for the night in sight of each other, reddening the sky with the 
glow of their camp-fires. 

The situation of the American army was now critical in the extreme. 
A retreat into Pennsylvania was impossible, as the Delaware was full of 




COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY, AT PRINCETON. 

floating ice, and could not be passed in the face of such an army as that 
of Cornwallis. The issue of the next day's conflict was, to say the least, 
doubtful, for the army of Cornwallis was composed mainly of veteran 
troops, and he was himself a leader of genuine ability. In this emergency 
AVashington determined upon one of the most brilliant and well-conceived 
operations of the war. It was known to him that the British had their 
main depot of supplies at New Brunswick, and he supposed from the 
presence of so many troops with Cornwallis that this depot had been left 
unguarded. He therefore resolved to break up his camp, and march by 
an unfrequented road around the left flank of the enemy to Princeton, 



THE YEAR 1777. 



485 



capture the force stationed there, and then hasten to New Brunswick and 
secure the stores at that place. Sending his heavy baggage and stores 
down the river to Burlington, Washington silently withdrew his army 
from its position at midnight, leaving the camp-fires burning to deceive 
the enemy, and a small force to watch the British and destroy the bridges 
after the army had passed on. 

A forced march brought the Americans within three miles of Princeton 
by daybreak on the morning of the 3d of January. The army was 
divided into two divisions, one under Washington, and the other under 
General Mercer, which approached the town by different routes. Three 
British regiments on their way to Trenton had passed the previous ni^ht 




BATTLE OF PRINCETON. 



at Princeton, and had resumed their march at dawn. The first of these, 
under Colonel Mawhood, was encountered by the division of General 
Mercer, about two miles from Princeton. As Mawhood sup])osed Mercer's 
force to be a party retreating from. Trenton, he at onee resolved to attack 
it. His attack was successful. The Americans were driven back, and 
General Mercer was wounded, bayoneted, and left on the field -appar- 
ently dead. Mercer's troops fell back in confusion, and a body of Pennsyl- 
vania militia, which had been sent by Washington to their assistance, was 
held in check by the fire of the British artillery. 

At this moment, Washington, who had been rendered anxious by the 



486 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

obstinate and continued firing, arrived on the field. A glance showed 
him the broken and shattered regiments of Mercer falling back in confu- 
sion, and the Pennsylvania militia wavering under the heavy cannonade 
directed against them. Not a moment was to be lost, and putting spurs 
to his horse, he dashed forward in the face of the fire of Mawhood's 
artiller}', and waving his hat, called upon the troops to rally and follow 
him. The effect was electrical ; the fugitives rallied with a loud cheer 
and reformed their line, and at the same moment a Virginia regiment, 
which had just arrived, dashed out of a neighboring wood and opened 
a heavy fire upon the enemy. A little later the American artiller}- came 
up, and opened a sliower of grape upon the British. Mawhood was driven 
back, and with great difficuhy succeeded in regaining the main road, 
along which he retreated with all speed to Trenton. 

The second British regiment, advancing from Princeton to Mawhood's 
assistance, was attacked by St. Clair's brigade, and was speedily driven 
across the country towards New Brunswick. The third regiment, seeing 
the fate of their comrades, became panic-stricken. A portion fled 
towards New Brunswick, and the remainder took refuge in the college 
building at Princeton. They surrendered after a few shots from the 
American artillery. 

The Americans lost but a few men in this battle ; but General Mercer, 
a brave and efficient commander, was mortally wounded, and died a few 
davs after the enu-agement. The British lost about one hundred killed 
and three hundred prisoners. 

Eager to secure the stores at New Brunswick, Washington pushed on 
with speed in that direction, but after passing a few miles beyond Prince- 
ton decided to abandon the attempt. He was sure that Cornwallis would 
l)ursue him as soon as his retreat from Trenton was discovered, and his 
men were too much exhausted to reach New Brunswick before the arrival 
of the enemy. They had been without rest for a night and a day, and 
some of them were barefooted. His generals sustained him in the 
opinion that it was injudicious to continue the movement against New 
Brunswick, and he reluctantly abandoned it, and withdrew in the direc- 
tion of Morristown. 

A^'hcn Cornwallis discovered the withdrawal of the Americans on the 
morning of the 3d of January, he was greatly perplexed to know in 
what direction they had gone. In a little while the sound of the can- 
nonade at Princeton revealed to him the route taken by them, and he at 
once understood the design of Washington. He must save his stores at 
any risk, and he broke up his camp and set out for Princeton and New 
Brunswick. The Americans had obstructed the Princeton road, and had 



THE YEAR 1777. 487 

broken down the bridge over Stony creek, a few miles from the town. 
Without waiting to rebuild the bridge, the British commander forced his 
men through the icy waters, which were breast high, and hastened through 
Princeton with all speed. Believing that Washington had hurried on to 
New Brunswick, Cornwallis marched direct to that place, and did not 
notice the deflection of the American army from the main route. Reach- 
ing Kew Brunswick, he made arrangements to defend the town, which he 
supposed would be attacked. 

In the meantime the American army retreated to a strong position at 
Morristown, where the troops erected huts in which to pass the winter. 
Finding that the enemy did not attack him, Washington ventured to 
extend his line. His right was at Princeton, under General Putnam, 
and his left, under General Heath, was in the Highlands. Plis own 
head-quarters were at Morristown. For six months neither party 
attempted any movement of importance. Washington was not idle, 
however. Though he had but the skeleton of an army at Morristown, 
he displayed such activity in cutting off the foraging parties of the 
British that they were unable to draw any supplies from the country 
beyond their lines, and rarely ventured without their camps. By the 
beginning of spring Cornwallis had abandoned every post in New Jersey 
save New Brunswick and Perth Amboy. From these points he could 
communicate with and draw his supplies from New York by water. 
Thus was New Jersey almost entirely redeemed from the enemy. The 
militia of the State recovered from their former despondency, and warmly 
seconded the efforts of Washington against the British. 

Confidence was returning to the country ; and though men felt that the 
struggle might yet be long and arduous, it was not as hopeless as they 
had feared. 

Washington passed the winter in endeavoring to reorganize the army, 
and fit it for the work required of it in the spring. The policy of short 
enlistments adopted by Congress was the source of very great trouble, 
and the expiration of the enlistments of a large part of the army during 
this winter caused the commander-in-chief the greatest anxiety. He 
repeatedly condemned this policy, and endeavored to procure the sub- 
stitution of a longer term. Great efforts were made to procure recruits, 
but they came in very slowly. In order to check the ravages of the 
small-pox in the camp, the recruits were inoculated immediately upon 
their arrival. 

Efforts were now made to bring about an exchange of prisoners. The 
British objected to an exchange of man for man, on the ground that the 
Americans were rebels, and such an exchange would be an acknowledg- 



488 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ment of their belligerent rights. Somewhat later General Howe, who 
had about five thousand prisoners in New York, renewed the negotiation. 
The British had treated the captured Americans with great severity, and 
had confined them in warehouses in New York, and in foul hulks 
anchored in the bay. They were improperly fed, and were allowed to 
remain almost naked. Their sufferings were fearful, and they were 
reduced and emaciated in strength and body, until they were truly said 
to resemble " walking corpses." British cruelty never exhibited itself in 
a more inhuman form than in the treatment of these unfortunate captives 




UNITED STATES NA^'Y YARD, BROOKLYN. 



by the royal officials. More than ten thousand of them died in New 
York, during the war, from the effects of this treatment. AVhen (ien- 
eral Howe's proposal to exchange these men for the Hessians taken by 
the Americans was received, it was declined by Washington. The Hes- 
sians had been well fed and well treated by the Americans, and were hale 
and hearty, and Washington was unwilling to liberate them for service 
in the British army, and to receive in exchange for them half-starved 
men, who were so weak that they could scarcely reach their homes. It 



THE YEAR 1777. 489 

was a stern necessity, but it was reco^jnized by Congress, and AVashing- 
ton's view of the matter was sustained. 

During the winter five more major-generals were commissioned by 
Congress. They were Stirling, St. Clair, Mifflin, Stephen, and Lincoln. 
Arnold, who was the senior brigadier in the service, justly conceived that 
his rank and services in battle entitled him to promotion, and was indig- 
nant at having been passed over in the new appointments, and complained 
bitterly of the injustice done him. Eighteen brigadier-generals were also 
appointed. Among them were George Clinton, of New York ; Glover, 
the commander of the Marblehead regiment ; Woodford and Muhlen- 
berg, of Virginia ; and Hand and Anthony Wayne, of Pennsylvania. 

Congress gave great attention to the reorganization of the army during 
this session. A quartermaster's department was organized, with General 
Mifflin at its head. Four regiments of cavalry were ordered to be 
enlisted. The hospital service was reorganized, and placed under the 
control of Dr. Shippen, of Philadelphia; and Dr. Rush, of Philadel- 
phia, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was 
appointed surgeon-general of the army. 

Eiforts were also made to place the navy upon a better footing. 
Several of the frigates ordered by Congress to be built had been com- 
pleted and equipped ; but the work on the rest was delayed by the want 
of funds. Efforts were made to complete them, as they were greatly 
needed ; all the vessels constituting the American fleet being at this time 
blockaded in the harbor of Providence, Rhode Island, by the enemy. 

Since the beginning of the struggle a destructive warfare had been 
carried on by the privateers of New England against the commerce of 
Great Britain, especially against the vessels of that country trading to 
the West Indies. During the first years of the war nearly three hundred 
of these were captured by the privateers. The cargoes of the captured 
vessels were valued at the immense sum of five millions of dollars. The 
American merchantmen also maintained a regular communication with 
France, Spain, and Holland, and a profitable trade was carried on 
between the United States and those countries. It was attended with 
great risk, however, and many of the American vessels were captured by 
the British men-of-war. 

Washington remained at Morristown some time after the sjiring 
opened, and exerted himself to the utmost to take the field as soon as the 
enemy should develop their plans. The first months of the season were 
employed by the British commander in a series of plundering expedi- 
tions. One of these was directed against Peekskill, where the Americans 
had collected a large quantity of. stores. General McDougall, command- 



490 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

iti^' the Ainori(!;in ibrce at tliiit point, I'ouiul it iiupD-s-siblo to dcfeiul the 
stoics, and set fire to tlioni and retivated to the heij^htw ovorh)()lvinjij the 
town. Tlio OMomy made no attempt to IbUow iiini, and returned tlown 
the river. General Heath had been transl'erred to the eoniniand of the 
forces in Miissaehnsetts, and waa sueeeodcd iu the connnand ol" the 
Hi;;hlands by (n'lieial I'uliiam. 

Jn (he latter part of A|)ril (Jeneral Tryon, the hist royalist }::overnor 
of New VorU, was sent by (leneral Howe, with a force of" two thousand 
nun, to (h'siroy a larj^'c (plant ity ol" stores colh>c(ed by the Americans at 
J>:iiil)iiry, in the wi'stern partof Connecticut, about twenty-three mih's 
l"i(>iii the souikK On (he 2()th ot" April, 'Trvoii landed near Norwalh, 
ami luaichcd to l)aiibiiry, whcrt^ he burned the stores and set fu'e to the 
town. Thus far he had met with no opposition; l)ut the alarm had 
spread immediately alti'r his laiulino;, an<l the Conneeticait militia, to the 
number of six huntlred men, jussend)led under Generals Silliman and 
M'ooster. Arnold chanced to be at New Haven, and eollectinjj; a small 
ibrce of volunteers, hurried to join Silliman and NN'ooster, and the whole 
eoiiimand hastened alter the marauders. 

Tryon l)e<;an his retreat from Danbury before day lijjjht on the morning 
of the 27th, and Mas soon al'ler attacked by (he militia. Durinjj^ the 
2Tlh and 'iSth, the Hritish wi-ri' harassed at every step by the little baud 
ol" Americans, who, (liou;j;h too w(>ak (odefcat them iu any single encounter, 
JiuuL!; upon their march and inllicte»l u|)ou them a loss of lu^arly thrir hun- 
drc(| UKMJ. The (Mkmuv at last came under the protection of the guns of 
their ships, and the Americans were Ibrced to withdraw. Tryon then 
re-iMubarked his exhausted troops and returned to New York. The 
American loss was slight. The brave old (Jeneral Wooster, a veteran 
of sixty -eight yeai's, was mortally wounded at the head of his men, and 
died :\ ll>w days later. Arnold b(>haved with such distinguished gallantry 
iu this alfair that Congress rewarded him with the rank of major-gen- 
eral, and pr(\sent(nl him with a horse handsomely e(piipped. Even this 
acknowledgment of his nuM'it was mingled with injustice, for the date of 
his commissiou still left him below the rank he was entitled to; and ho 
fell the second slight as another undeserved injury. 

The ( 'onnccticut militia were very indignant at the burning of Dan- 
buiN , :\ud n>soIvcd to aveng(> it. In the latter part of Mav, a party of 
one hundred aiul s(>V(>uty men, under (\>loiiel MiMgs, crossed the sound 
ill whale-boats to the cast end ol" Long island. Tliev carritxl their boats 
thirluii; the night fifteen miles across the neck, and launching them again, 
])roceeded to Sag Harbor, where they (.lestroyed twelve vessels and a largo 
tpiautily of stones ct)llccted there by the liritish, and made ninety pris- 
oners. They then rcturiu>d to Connecticut witlu>ut (he loss of a man. 



THE YEAR 1777. 



491 



Kecrnits oamo in to tlio American camp very slowly, and various cx- 
)K!(li(;nts wore udoptc^d hy Wa.shinf^ton to hasten the enlistnients. At ills 
instance, Con/^ress declared that all indented s(;rvants who enlisted in the 
army should receive their freedom at once, liounties in land wereollenid 
(<) such Hessians as should desert the British service. This last measure 
(lid not ac(!omplish much towards (iripplinjjr the enemy. 

In the northern department, Schuyler was left with a mere skeleton 
oi' an army. He had hut seven hundred men, at the most, at Ticon- 
dcroi^a, and he was fi-arful that 
('arh'lon would learn his weak- 
ness, j)ass Lak(; (Jhumplain on 
the ice, ca|)ture Ticoiidc'roga, 
an<l push on to Albany. lie 
rcpeatcidly urged tlu; command- 
er-in-chief to send him re^ 
inforcements and suppliers, but 
his re(piest could not be granted, 
as tlujre were none to be s|)ar('d 
i'rom Washington's army. Din- 
ing the winter a persistent effort 
was made to drive Schuyhir 
from his command, in ord(;r 
that Gates might succeed to it. 
(Jharg(!S wen; brought against 
him with such recklessness that 
1h! offered his resignation to 
(•ongress. That body refnscid 
to accept it ; but as the efforts 
of his enemies were not dis<;on- 

continued, Schuyler w(!nt to l*hiladel|)hia, in April, 1777, and demanded 
an investigation into his conduct. (inUiH succeeded him in his command. 
S('huyler was fully vindicated by the report of the investigating cr)m- 
mittee of Congress, and was ordered to resume his command. Gates was 
greatly sur])rised by the nisidt, and reluctantly relin<piish(Kl the command 
of the northern departmerjt to his rival, and repaired to Phihuh-lphia 
to seek redress at the hands of Congress for what ha termed his wrongs. 

Until now the Americans had Ix^en without a natif)nal flag. Congre.sH, 
in .June, 1777, njUKidied this very serious want by arlopting the old 
"Union Flag," with its thirteen stripes; but snbstitutcKl, in place of St. 
G(!f)rge's (Jross, a group of thirt(!(!n stars, one for each State. Thus tin; 
"Stars and Stripes" became the national (insign of the republio^a star 




OKNFUAI- rMriMP WMfr'YLKIt. 



492 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

having been added for each additional State that has since joined the 
original thirteen. 

The war in America had been watched with the deepest interest in 
Europe, and especially by France. The French government had been 
convinced long before the outbreak of the revolution that the treatment 
which the colonies were receiving from Great Britain would ultimately 
cause their separation from her ; and ten years before the war began, the 
Duke de Choiseul, the prime minister of Louis XV., had sent Baron 
De Kalb to examine and report the state of the feelings of the colonists 
towards Great Britain. De Kalb was a shrewd observer, and furnislied 
his government with ample proofs that England was alienating the 
Americans by her treatment of them. Choiseul conceived tlie hope that, 
by offering the Americans free trade with France, they would be made 
to resent the course of England even more decidedly. When the revo- 
lution began, the French government was fully prepared for it, and was 
ready to avenge the loss of Canada by aiding the new republic in its 
efforts to throw off the authority of Great Britain. It was merely wait- 
ing: to see whether the Americans were able to maintain the stand thev 
had taken. The news of the defeat on Long island, the loss of New 
York, and the retreat through New Jersey, filled the friends of America 
with serious alarm, and it was generally believed in Europe that the 
Americans would not be able to withstand the superior force of the 
mother country. 

In the early spring of 1777 it was known in Europe that the American 
army, which it was supposed had been driven in hopeless disorder over 
the Delaware without the means of continuing the war, had suddenly 
rallied and beaten a force of veteran troops at Trenton, and again at 
Princeton, and had recovered New Jersey from the enemy. This intelli- 
gence produced the most profound astonishment in Europe, and was 
received in France with genuine satisfaction. The Americans were 
extolled as a race of heroes, and the prudence and good generalship of 
Washington were spoken of with the highest praise. 

The French government now felt justified in aiding the patriots ; but 
it proceeded with caution. American privateers were secretly fitted out, 
w^ith the connivance of the government, and were permitted to sell their 
prizes in French ports, and the protests of the British ambassador against 
such acts were unheeded. The government made secret grants of arms 
and military stores to the Americans, and three ship-loads were sent out 
in the spring of 1777. Two of these vessels were captured by the Eng- 
lish, but the third reached America in safety, and its cargo went to supply 
the deficiencies of the army at Morristown. 



THE YEAR 1777. 



493 



In the spring of this year the commissioners sent to France by Con- 
gress reached that country. They had full powers to enter into an 
alliance with the French king. They were granted several private 
interviews by the Count de Vergennes, the French prime minister, 
and were secretly encouraged to hope for the success of their mission. 
As yet, however, France was not prepared to declare war against 
Great Britain. 

Though the government delayed its action, there were generous hearts 
in France who were determined to give all the aid and comfort in their 
power to the struggling patriots. One of these was the youthful Marquis 
de Lafayette, the heir of a noble name, the possessor of wealth and a 
high social position, and the husband of a beautiful and accomplished 
wife. He had heard at a dinner 
party given by the French offi- 
cials at Mayence to the Duke of 
Gloucester, a brother of the king 
of England, the story of the war 
then going on in America, and 
its causes, related by the lips of 
the royal guest. His generous 
heart at once went out in sym- 
pathy to the patriots, and he 
resolved to leave his family and 
all his advantages at home, and 
go to the aid of the Americans. 
He revealed his intention to the 
Count de Broglie, a Marshal of 
France, who regarded his enter- 
prise as Quixotic, and refused to 
aid him. Finding him deter- 
mined, the count introduced his young friend to the Baron de Kalb, an 
officer of experience and merit, who had visited America as Choiseur's 
agent in the last reign. De Kalb introduced Lafayette to Silas Deane, 
then the only American commissioner in France. The news of the loss 
of New York and of New Jersey arrived about this time, but did not 
lessen the ardor of Lafayette ', and though the newly-arrived commis- 
sioners, Franklin and Lee, candidly told him that they could not en- 
courage him to hope for a successful issue of their cause, he avowed his 
determination to proceed. He purchased a vessel, which was loaded 
■with arms and supplies by the commissioners. The French govern- 
ment attempted to prevent him from sailing, but he succeeded in getting 




liAFAYETTE. 



494 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



off, accompanied by De Kalb and several others. He reached Phila- 
delphia, offered his services to Congress without pay, and was com- 
missioned a major-general in the American army, though not yet 
twenty years old. 

Lafayette was not the only foreigner whose services were accepted by 
Congress. De Kalb ; Count Pulaski and Thaddeus Kosciusko, natives 
of Poland; and Conway, an Irishman who had seen thirty years' service 
in the French army, and who, in an evil hour for this country, came to 
America ; and, later still, Baron Steuben, one of Frederick the Great's 
veterans, and who did good service to the cause by introducing into the 
American ranks the drill and discipline of the Prussian army, were com- 
missioned and assigned to duty by Congress. 

About the middle of May, Washington broke up his camp at Morris- 
town, and occupied tlie heights of Middlebrook in order to watch the 
British to better advantage. Howe made repeated efforts to draw him 
from this strong position into the open field, where the superior 

discipline of the royal 
troops would give him 
an advantage, but 
Washington out- 
generalled him com- 
pletely, and Howe 
finding it impossible 
to bring on an engage- 
ment, withdrew his 
army to Staten island. 
While these move- 
ments were in progress, the British sustained a serious loss in the 
capture of General Prescott, one of their principal officers, who had 
earned the dislike of the Americans by his arbitrary and contemptu- 
ous treatment of them. He was commanding the British forces at 
Xcwport, and had his head-quarters on the outskirts of the town. 
On a dark night in July, a company of picked men, under Colonel 
Barton, crossed Narragansett bay in whale boats, and passing silently 
through the British fleet, landed near Prescott's quarters. The sen- 
tinel at the door was secured, and the astounded general was roused 
from his bed, and hurried away without being allowed time to dress. 
He was conveyed within the American lines, and was afterwards ex- 
changed for General Charles Lee. 

Washington now learned of the invasion of New York by the army 
of General Burgoyne, to which we shall refer further on. It was evident 




LAFAYETTE OFFERING HIS SERVICES TO DR. FRANKLIN. 



THE YEAR 1777. 495 

thai Burgoyne was trying to reach the Hudson. Washington's spies in 
New York informed him tliat Howe was preparing to send off the larger 
part of his force by water, and the commander-in-chief was perplexed 
to know whether Howe intended ascending the Hudson to cooperate with 
Burgoyne, or to transport his army to Philadelphia by water. Towards 
the last of July Howe sailed with his fleet from New York, and stood 
out to sea. Ten days later his ships were reported off the mouth of the 
Delaware. Washington now felt confident that his design was to attack 
Philadelphia, and crossed the Delaware with his army, and marched to 
Germantown to await the development of the enemy's plans. About the 
same time the British fleet stood out to sea again. Its destination was 




SCENE ON THE WISSAHICKON. 



uncertain, and Washington held his army in readiness to march at a 
minute's notice to the threatened point. 

While awaiting the movements of Sir William Howe, Washington 
visited Philadelphia, where Arnold was in command and was engaged 
in fortifying the city, to consult with Congress, and push forward the 
measures for the defence of the place. While there he met the newly- 
arrived Lafayette. Washington was an acute judge of men, and at his 
first interview with Lafayette was deeply impressed with the noble and 
earnest character of the young soldier, and conceived for him a warm 
regard which ended only with his life. 

In the midst of the uncertainty attending Howe's movements, Wash- 
ington received urgent appeals from Schuyler for assistance. He sent 
him two brigades from the Highlands, and ordered Colonel Morgan to 



496 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



join him with his riflemen, who were regarded as more than a match for 
the Indians of Burgoyne's army. Arnold was also sent to assume com- 
mand of a division in the northern army, as he was familiar with the 
country. Putnam was ordered to prevent Sir Henry Clinton, who hud 
been left at New York, from ascending the Hudson and forming a junc- 
tion with Burgoyne ; and General Lincoln, commanding the militia of 
Massachusetts, was directed to march with a portion of his force to 
Schuyler's assistance. 

As nothing had been heard of the British fleet, Washington was about 
to move from Germantown into New Jersey once more, when news was 
received that the enemy had ascended the Chesapeake to its head, and 
had landed their forces at Elkton, in Maryland, about sixty miles from 
Phi]adel])hia. The Delaware had been obstructed and fortified a short dis- 
tance below Philadelphia, and Howe had ascended the Chesapeake in order 

to secure an undis- 
puted landing. He 
intended to march 
his army across the 
country towards 
Philadelphia, while 
the fleet should re-- 
turn to the Dela- 
ware, and aid the 
army in reducing 
the forts on that 
river. He had 
eighteen thousand men with him, and effected his landing at Elkton, 
without opposition, on the 25th of August, and at once began his advance 
towards Philadelphia. 

Washington had but eleven thousand effective men with him, and was 
in no way prepared to undertake a cami)aign in the open country. 
Nevertheless, he advanced at once to dispute the progress of the enemy, 
and by forced marches succeeded in reaching the vicinity of Wilmington 
before the arrival of the British. Upon examining the country he de- 
cided to contest the passage of the Brandywine creek, and stationed his 
army along its left bank. The British were advancing by the main 
road to Philadelphia, which crossed the Brandywine at Chadd's ford, 
and as Washington supposed their main effort would be made at this 
point, he stationed the greater part of his army to cover it. On the 11th 
of September the British army reached the creek. Howe ordered Gen- 
eral Knyphauseu to make a feint at Chadd's ford, as if he were about to 




BATTLE OF THE BRANDYWINE. 



THE YEAR YJ'!1, 



497 



force a passage, while he sent Cornwallis with a strong column to pass 
the creek higher up and turn the American right flank. This plan was 
successfully carried out. Washington was deceived by the officer sent to 
ascertain if the enemy were threatening his right, and was left in ignor- 
ance of Cornwallis' movement until it was too late to prevent it. Being 
outflanked, the American army was compelled to fall back, with a loss 
of twelve hundred men. The troops did not know they had suffered a 
reverse, but supposing they had merely experienced a check were in high 
spirits. Lafayette was wounded in this battle ; and Pulaski so greatly 
distinguished himself that he was subsequently rewarded by Congress 
with the rank of brigadier-general and the command of the cavalry. 




THE SCHUYLKILL, AT PHILADELPHLA.. 

Sir "William Howe did not push his advantage, but remained for two 
days near the battle-field. AVashington, in the meantime, retreated to 
Chester, and then to the Schuylkill, which he crossed on the 12th of 
September, and proceeded to Germantown, where the army went into 
camp. The men were in excellent spirits, and a day or two later Wash- 
ington recrossed the river, and moved towards the enemy, whom he 
encountered about twenty-five miles from Philadelphia, on the 16th. A 
violent rain-storm prevented the two armies from engaging, and injured 
the arms and ammunition of the men so much that Washington deemed 
it best to withdraw to Pott's Grove, on the Schuylkill, about thirty miles 
32 



498 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

from Philadelphia. At the same time he detached General Wayne, with 
a force of fifleen hundred men, to gain the enemy's rear and cut off their 
"wagon train. A Tory carried information of tliis movement to the British 
commander, and "Wayne was himself surprised at Paoli tavern, on the 
20th of September, and defeated with a loss of three hundred men. 

It being impossible to save the city of Philadelphia from capture the 
military stores were removed, and a contribution was levied upon the 
people to supply the army with clothing, shoes, and other necessaries 
during the M'intcr. Congress in view of the great danger which threat- 
ened the country conferred dictatorial powers upon Washington for sixty 
days, and then extended this time to a period of four months. Congress 
then adjourned to meet at Lancaster, from which, a few days later, it 
transferred its sessions to York beyond the Susquehanna. 

Howe crossed the Schuylkill by a night march, and on the 26th of 
SciDtember entered Philadelphia. The bulk of his army was stationed at 
Germantown, and a small detachment was left to hold the city. 

The Americans, though they had lost Philadelphia, still held the forts 
on the Delaware, a short distance below the mouth of the Schuylkill. 
The w^ork on the Pennsylvania side w^as called Fort Mifflin, and was built 
on a low mud island. Immediately opposite, at Ked Bank, on the New 
Jersey shore, was Fort INIercer. Both works were armed with heavy 
guns, and commanded the river perfectly. The channel Avas obstructed 
with heavy logs fastened together and sunk in the stream so securely as 
to render their removal difficult. Above these obstructions were several 
floating batteries. 

After landing the British army at Elkton, Lord Howe carried his fleet 
down the Chesapeake, and entering the Delaware took position below the 
forts to await the cooperation of the army in the attack upon them. 

Washington having learned that Howe had withdrawn a part of his 
force from Germantown to aid in the operations against the fort, resolved 
to surprise the remainder. A night march of fourteen miles brought the 
American army to Germantown at sunrise on the morning of the 4th of 
October. A heavy fog hung over the country and prevented the com- 
mander-in-chief from seeing cither the position of the enemy or that of 
his own troops. The British were taken by surprise, and were driven in 
disorder. The victory seemed within the grasp of Washington, when the 
Americans abandoned the pursuit to attack a stone house in which a few 
of the enemy had taken refuge. While thus engaged they were seized 
with an un accountable panic, which threw them into confusion. The 
British rallied, and assailing the Americans in their turn, drove them 
from the field with a loss of one thousand men. Washington was greatly 



THE YEAR 1777. 



'499 



mortified by this failure. He wrote to Congress: "Every account con- 
firms the opinion I at first entertained, that our troops retreated at the 
instant when victory was declaring; herself in our favor." 

Howe now drew in his army nearer to Philadelphia, and prepared for 
an iru mediate attack on the forts on the Delaware. These held that river 
so securely that the British fleet was not able to bring supplies up to the 
city. The provisiouvS of the army were nearly exhausted, and if the forts 
could not be reduced it would be necessary to evacuate Philadelphia in 
order to obtain food. On the 22d of October, Count Donop was sent 
with a force of twelve hundred picked Hessians to storm Fort Mercer; at 
Red Bank, while the fleet reduced Fort Mifilin. Donop's attack was 




THE BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN — CHEW's HOUSE. 

repulsed with a loss of four hundred men, the Hessian commander him- 
self being among the slain. In the attack on Fort Mifflin the British 
lost two ships, and the remainder were more or less injured by the fire 
of the American guns. 

Shortly after this repulse, the British erected batteries on a small island 
in the Delaware, which commanded Fort Mifflin, and on the 10th of 
November opened a heavy bombardment of the fort from these works 
and from their fleet. The bombardment was continued until the night 
of the 15th. The works being nearly destroyed, Fort Mifflin was aban- 
doned on the night of the 16th, and on the 18th the garrison was 
withdrawn from the fort at Red Bank. The British now removed the 
obstructions from the river, and their fleet ascended to Philadelphia. 



500 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



General Howe constructed a strongly fortified line from the Schuylkill to 
the Delaware, above Philadelphia, and went into winter quarters with 
his army behind these defences. 

The season being too late for active operations, Washington withdrew 
his army to Valley Forge on the Schuylkill, about twenty miles from 
Philadelphia, and went into winter quarters. From this position he 
could protect Congress, which was sitting at York, and insure the safety 
of his principal depot of supplies at Reading. 

In the northern department the year had been marked by the most 
important events. Sir Guy Carleton -was succeeded in the command of 
the British forces in Canada by General Burgoyne, an officer of ability and 




ATTACK ON RED BANK. 



integrity. He was strongly reinforced, and soon had under his command 
a finely equipped army of ten thousand men. About eight thousand of 
these were British and Hessian regulars, the remainder Canadians and 
Indians. The army was plentifully supplied with artillery of the most 
improved pattern, which was under the immediate command of General 
Philips, a veteran who had served with great distinction in the seven 
years war. The second in command of the army was General Frazer, an 
officer of acknowledged skill, who was greatly beloved by the troops. 
Baron Rcidesel, the commander of the Hessians, was also an old soldier. 
Altogether, the force under Burgoyne was the most splendid body of 
troops Great Britain had yet assembled in America. With this army 
Burgoyne was to advance by way of Lake Champlain to the Hudson, 
while a detachment under General St. Leger was to move eastward by 



THE YEAR VJll. 



501 



way of Oswego and descend the Mohawk to the Hudson. Having 
secured the Hudson, Burgoyne was to open communication with Sir 
Henry Clinton in New York, capture the forts in the Highlands, and so 
cut off New England from the Middle and Southern States. 

To oppose his advance General Schuyler had a weak army between 
Albany and Lake Champlain. General St. Clair with a detachment of 
three thousand men held Ticonderoga, and though he seriously feared that 
his force was too weak to offer much resistance, trusted to the natural 
strength of his position, and hoped to be able to hold Ticonderoga until 
aid could reach him. 




ALBANY, NEW YORK, IN 1875. • 

On the 2d of July Burgoyne's array appeared before Ticonderoga, and 
invested that post. Opposite Fort Ticonderoga, on the right hand side 
of the outlet of Lake George, is a lofty hill known as Mount Defiance. 
The Americans had neglected to fortify this hill, thinking it inaccessible 
to artillery. General Philips was of a different opinion, and in three 
days of hard labor succeeded in dragging his guns to the summit of 
Mount Defiance, from which they commanded the forts on both sides of 
the lake. St. Clair now saw that the forts were untenable, and that he 
must evacuate them at once in order to save his army. Sending his bag- 
gage and stores in boats up the lake to Skenesborough, now Whitehall, 



502. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

he evacuated Fort Ticonderoga and crossed over to Fort Independence, 
on the opposite side of the lake. His withdrawal was discovered before 
it was completed, and the British at once followed in pursuit. Burgoyne 
ordered General Frazer to follow St. Clair's command, while he himself 
passed up the lake and destroyed the stores at Skenesborough. Upon 
his approach, on the afternoon of the 7th, the American force at Skenes- 
borough set fire to the stores, and retreated rapidly to Fort Anne, which 
was reached the next morning. The British appeared before this fort the 
same day, but were held in check, and that night the Americans set fire 
to Fort Anne and retreated to Fort Edward, sixteen miles farther. 

On the afternoon of the 7th, General Frazer came up with St. Clair's 
rear guard at Hubbardton, and defeated it with severe loss. St. Clair 
continued his retreat through the woods, and a week later reached Fort 
Edward with his exhausted troops. 

General Schuyler had advanced to Fort Edward with a force of five 
thoiisand men, nearly all of whom were militia ; many were without arms, 
and there was a woful scarcity of ammunition and provisions in his camp. 
Schuyler was joined here by the remnant of St. Clair's command, and as 
Burgoyne had halted for a few days at the head of Lake Champlain, 
which was twenty-four miles distant from Fort Edward, Schuyler set his 
men to work to obstruct the road between those two points by felling 
trees across it and destroying bridges. So thoroughly was this work done 
that Burgoyne's armj consumed a fortnight in its advance from Skenes- 
borough to the Hudson. It reached the neighborhood of Fort Edward 
on the 29th of July. Schuyler at once abandoned the fort, and fell back 
to Saratoga, from which he moved to Stillwater, near the mouth of the 
Mohawk. 

The loss of Ticonderoga and the northern forts was regarded by Con- 
gress as an evidence of the incapacity of Schuyler and his subordinates, 
and so little allowance was made for the serious disadvantages under 
which those officers labored, that Congress ordered all the northern 
generals to be recalled and their conduct investigated. It was not until 
Washington called the attention of Congress to the fact that a compliance 
with this order would leave the northern army without officers, that that 
body consented to suspend its unwise decree. The prejudice against 
Schuyler, though unjust, was deep, and his removal from his command 
was resolved upon. Washington declined to deprive him of his com- 
mand, as his confidence in Schuyler Avas unshaken, and Congress took the 
mairtcr in its own hands. " The eastern influence prevailed," says Irving, 
" and Gates received the appointment so long the object of his aspirations, 
if not intritrues." 



THE YEAR 1777. 



503 



Upon reaching Fort Edward, Burgoyne, confident that the game was 
in his own hands, issued a proclamation calling upon the people to send 
representatives to a convention to meet at Castletou to provide for the re- 
establishment of the royal authority. This was met by a proclamation 
from Schuyler, who declared that he would punish as traitors all who 
should comply with Burgoyne's call, or in any way give aid and comfort 
to the enemy. There was not much need for this threat, for the militia 
of the northern district were rapidly rallying to Schuyler's aid ; the people 
of the whole region were profoundly excited, and they were determined 
that the British army should never leave their country. 

Much of this feeling was caused by the outrages of the Indians in 
Burgoyne's army, who prowled about the country, murdering and plun- 
dering the people who were exposed to their fury. One of their crimes 
roused the whole northern region to action. A beautiful young girl, 
Jenny McCrea by 
name, was visiting a 
friend near Fort Ed- 
ward. She was be- 
trothed to a young 
Tory who had fled to 
Canada some time 
since, and was now 
serving as a lieuten- 
ant in Burgoyne's 
army. When her 
friends removed 
from Fort Edward 
ened them, she 



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SIEGE OF FORT SCHTJYI,ER. 



to Albany, to avoid the danger which threat- 
lingered behind in spite of their invitation to ac- 
company them, hoping to meet her lover upon the advance of Burgoyne's 
forces. The house in which she was staying was attacked by a party of 
Indians, and she was taken prisoner. Anxious for her safety she prom- 
ised her captors a liberal reward if they would conduct her to her lover 
in the British camp. On the way they quarrelled over the promised re- 
ward, and in their rage murdered the poor girl and carried her scalp into 
the British camp. Burgoyne was horror-struck at the atrocious deed, 
and promptly disavowed it ; but the news of the murder roused a stern 
desire for vengeance throughout the northern department. The terrible 
scenes of the old French war were not forgotten, and the people were 
fearful they would now be revived under British influence unless Bur- 
goyne's army were destroyed. Thousands flocked to the American camp, 
with such arms as they could procure, eager to crush the enemy. 



504 



BISTORT OF THE UNITED STATES. 



In the meantime St. Leger had moved from Oswego into the vallev of 
the Mohawk, and had laid siege to Fort Schuyler or Stanwix, on the site 
of the present city of Rome. The fort was commanded by Colonel Gan- 
sevoort. The siege was begun on the 3d of August, and a few days later 
news was received by the little garrison that General Herkimer with 
eight hundred militia was advancing to their assistance. On tlie 6th of 
August Herkimer reached a place called Oriskany, where, owing to the 
impatience of his men, he fell into an ambush of Tories and Indians. 
The fight which ensued was one of the most desperate of the war ; quarter 







BtTRGOYXE's EXCAMPMEKT ON THE HUDSON. 



was neither asked nor given by either party. Herkimer was mortally 
wounded, but continued to cheer on his men, until a successful sally from 
the fort compelled St. Leger to recall the force eng-aged with Herkimer 
to defend his own camp. The American militia then retreated, carrying 
with them their commander, who died a few days later. Fort Schuyler 
was left in a critical condition, and Arnold was sent at his own request to 
its relief. He caused the strength of his force to be greatly exaggerated, 
and spread a report that Burgoyne had been defeated. The Indians de- 
serted St. Leger rapidly upon hearing these reports, and that commander 



THE YEAR 1777. 



605 



hastily abandoned his camp, and retreated into Canada with the remainder 
of his force. 

Burgoyne had now reached the Hudson, and had full command of Lakes 
George and Charaplain; but the people of the country were hostile to 
him, and he found it hard to procure either cattle or horses. Though his 
camp on the Hudson Avas but eighteen miles from Lake George, this lack 
of animals made it almost impossible to transport his supplies across 
the intervening coun- 
try, and his army 
was beginnl '>o| Un 
short of provisions. 

To obtain horses 
and provisions, Bur- 
goyne, early in Au- 
gust, sent a force of 
five hundred Ger- 
mans and a detach- 
ment of Indians and 
Tories, under Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel 
Baum, to seize the 
stores collected by 
the Americans at 
Bennington, V e r - 
mont, and to collect 
such horses and cattle 
as they could on the 
march. He was told 
that the people of 
the neighborhood 
were largely devoted 
to the king, and that 
the stores were un- genekal john stark. 

guarded. 

The news of the approach of this force spread rapidly through the 
country, and the Green Mountain Boys, as the Vermont militia were 
termed, flew to arms. Colonel Stark, who had retired from the Conti- 
nental army on account of having been neglected in the recent promo- 
tions, was in the neighborhood, and was offered the command of the 
gathering forces. He accepted it promptly, and issued a warning to the 
people along the route of the British to drive off their horses and cattle, 




506 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



and to conceal their grain and wagons to prevent their capture by the 
enemy. A messenger was sent with all speed to Manchester to Colonel 
Seth Warner, urging him to march at once with his regiment to Ben- 
nington, where he was needed. 

Biium had advanced to within six miles of Bennington when he heard 
of the approach of the militia under Stark. He halted, intrenched his 
position, and sent to Burgoyne for reinforcements. Colonel Breyman 







BATTLE OF BENNINGTON. 



with five hundred Hessians and two pieces of artillery was despatched to 
his assistance. 

Stark was prevented from making an immediate attack upom Baum by 
a furious rain-storm, which also delayed the march of Breyman and 
Warner. During the night of the 15th of August, Stark was joined by 
the militia from Berkshire, Massachusetts. They were anxious to engage 
the enemy at once, and were impatient at the delay caused by the storm. 
One of their number, Parson Allen, approached Stark. " General," said 
he, " the people of Berkshire have often been called out to no purpose ; 
if you don't give them a chance to fight now, they will never turn out 



THE YEAR 1777. 507 

again." Stark remarked his earnestness, and said with a smile, " You 
would not turn out now, while it is dark and raining, would you?" 
" Not just now," answered the parson. " Well," said Stark, " if the Lord 
should once more give us sunshine, and I don't give you fighting enough, 
I'll never ask you to turn out again." 

The morning of the 16th came bright and clear, and Stark at once began 
his advance upon the enemy. Arriving in sight of the British works, he 
pointed them out to his men. " There are the red coats ! We must beat 
them to-day, or Molly Stark sleeps a widow to-night." A spirited attack 
was made upon the British lines, both in front and in the rear, and after 
two hours' hard fighting they were carried by storm. Baum fell mortally 
wounded, and his men laid down their arms. The Indians and Tories 
had escaped to the woods at the opening of the battle. 

The fighting had scarcely ended when the force under Colonel Breyman 
appeared, and at once engaged the Americans. At the same moment 
Warner's regiment, which had pushed forward all night in the rain, 
reached the field. The battle was continued until nightfall, when Brey- 
man abandoned his artillery and made a hurried retreat to Burgoyne's 
camp on the Hudson. The Americans had fourteen killed and forty 
wounded. They took six hundred prisoners, one thousand stand of arms, 
and four pieces of cannon. 

Burgoyne now found himself in a most critical condition. He had 
reached the Hudson, but his troops were short of provisions ; his efforts 
against Fort Schuyler and Bennington had failed, and his force was being 
reduced by the desertions of the Indians. Burgoyne, who was a man of 
humanity and true soldierly spirit, had no sympathy with the barbarous 
policy of his government in employing the savages against the Americans, 
and had sternly cut short their cruelties. The Indians had taken offence 
at his course, and were leaving his army in great numbers. He made no 
effort to detain them, preferring to lose their services rather than allow 
them to continue their atrocities. On the other hand the American army 
was daily growing stronger. The militia were flocking to it in great 
numbers, and reinforcements were received from the Highlands. The 
militia of New Hampshire and Massachusetts were threatening Ticonder- 
oga, the capture of which post would cut off his communications with 
Canada. The contrast between the present condition of the British army 
and that of a few weeks before was marked indeed. 

Matters were in this state when General Gates arrived, late in August, 
and assumed the command of the army, which was now six thousand 
strong, and receiving reinforcements every day. Schuyler, superior to 
all sense of personal wrong, cheerfully rendered him all the assistance in 



508 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



his power in mastering the question before him ; but Gates repaid this 
generosity with characteristic jealousy. He did not even invite Schuyler 
to his first council of war held a few days later. He at once left the posi- 
tion at the mouth of the Mohawk, and on the 12th of September advanced 
to Behmus' Heights, a spur of hills bordering the Hudson. The army 
now numbered nine thousand effective men, indiiferently armed, but re- 
solved to conquer. " Gates had no fitness for command," says Bancroft, 
" and wanted personal courage." He intrenched his position, and for the 
defence of his right and left flanks erected strong batteries. 

Burgoyneby great 
exertions succeeded 
in bringing up a 
month's provisions 
from Lake George 
for his army, which 
was now reduced to 
about six thousand 
men. He resolved 
to adhere to his orig- 
inal plan, and en- 
deavor to force his 
way to Albany, and 
on the 13tli of Sep- 
tember crossed the 
Hudson at Schuyler- 
ville, and encamped 
on the ])lains of Sar- 
atov, intendino; to 
decide the campaign 
by a general engage- 
ment. On the morn- 
ing of the 19th of 
September he ad- 
vanced against the 
American position. Gates wished to await the attack of the enemy in his in- 
trenched position, but Amold urged him to throw forward a force to hold 
them in check, and not permit them to turn the American left, as they 
evidently intended. After considerable solicitation he obtained the desired 
permission from Gates, and moved forward to check the advance of the 
British. A determined conflict immediately ensued and continued until 
nightfall. It was one of the most stubbornly contested engagements of the 




GENERAL HORATIO GATES. 



TEE YEAR 1777. 509 

war, and its result was mainly due to the skill and courage of Arnold, who 
held the enemy in check during the day, and prevented the success of their 
plan for turning Gates' left flank. The British remained in possession 
of the field at night, and the Americans rejoined their main body. The 
latter regarded the battle as a victory, as they had accomplished all they 
had expected. 

Burgoyne's difficulties thickened rapidly. On the 17th a detachment 
of Massachusetts militia seized the posts at the outlet of Lake George and 
captured a fleet of three hundred boats loaded with supplies for Bur- 
goyne's army, and took three hundred prisoners. This force then united 
with another and laid siege to Ticonderoga. These successes completely 
destroyed Burgoyne's communication with Canada, and with it his means 
of supplying his army. In this emergency he was greatly encouraged by 
the receipt of a letter from Sir Henry Clinton at New York, informing 
him that he (Clinton) would in a few days make an effort to ascend the 
Hudson and open communication with him. Burgoyne thereupon re- 
solved to endeavor to hold his position until the arrival of Clintoa. 
Three weeks passed away in inaction, and though skirmishes between the 
advanced parties were frequent, neither commander cared to attack the 
other ; Burgoyne because he was anxious to defer a decisive engagement, 
Gates because he was scantily supplied with ammunition. 

The success of the battle of Behmus' Heights was generally attributed 
by the troops to Arnold, who was very popular with them. Gates' 
jealousy was most probably aroused by this belief, and he unceremoni- 
ously deprived Arnold of his command. During this delay the American 
army was increased by the arrival of the Massachusetts militia and other 
reinforcements, to about eleven thousand men. 

Burgoyne's situation was now more critical than ever. His best officers 
favored a retreat to Fort Edward ; but the British commander decided 
before undertaking that movement to reconnoitre the American position 
in strong force. If it was found that it could not be attacked, he was 
willing to retreat to Fort -Edward. A force of fifteen hundred picked men 
and ten pieces of cannon, commanded by the most experienced officers in 
the army, was sent on the 7th of October to reconnoitre the American 
position. Gates, by the advice of Morgan, attacked this force on both 
flanks, and sent Morgan with his riflemen to cut the enemy off from their 
camp. 

The sound of the firing roused Arnold, who was brooding over his 
wrongs. He mounted his horse and rode at full speed to the battle-field 
in spite of the efforts of Gates to stop him. He reached the scene of 
action, and was recognized by the troops, who received him with cheers. 



510 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Without orders or any definite command, he placed himself at the head 
of the troops and led them against the enemy. The British, led by Gen- 
eral Frazer, held their ground manfully, but at length Frazer was mor- 
tally wounded by one of Morgan's riflemen, and his line gave May. 
Burgoyne fearlessly exposed himself in the effort to rally the men, but 
was at length obliged to order a retreat to the camp. This was accom- 
plished with extreme difficulty, and the Americans, following in close 
pursuit, made a determined attack upon the British intrenchments, which 
were stubbornly defended. In this attack Arnold displayed great hero- 




m:'^^Mm:ms^^- 



BURGOYNE S RETREAT. 



ism, and was wounded within the enemy's works. Though they failed 
to capture the whole line, the Americans carried the camp of Colonel 
Breyman's regiment of Hessians, the key to Burgoyne's position, and took 
a number of prisoners. 

The Americans bivouacked on the field, intending to renew the battle 
the next day, but during the night Burgoyne abandoned his sick and 
wounded, and silently withdrew from his intrenchments. The roads 
being rendered bad by the rains, he halted and took position about two 
miles from the town of Saratoga. On the ni^ht of the 9th, finding that 



THE YEAR 1777. 



511 



the Americans held the Hudson in such heavy force as to render its pas- 
sage impracticable, he retreated to Saratoga. He then sent out a detach- 
ment to rebuild the bridges on the road to Fort Edward, but found the 
road in the possession of the Americans, who also held Fort Edward, and 
had captured all the boats laden with provisions for his array. He was 
thus left with but three days' rations for his men. On the 12th the 
American army, which had followed the British closely, invested their 
position, and opened 
a heavy fire upon 
their camp. On the 
13th Burgoyne called 
a council of his of- 
ficers, and it was re- 
solved to open nego- 
tiations with Gates. 
He proposed to Gates 
to surrender his army 
on condition that they 
should be allowed to 
sail for England 
from the port of 
Boston, first pledging 
themselves not to 
serve again in North 
America during the 
Avar. Gates had heard 
of the successes of 
Clinton on the Hud- 
son, and was fearful 
that he would reach 
Albany. He there- 
fore weakly agreed to 
Burgoyns's proposal, 
and consented that 

the British army should march out of its camp with the honors of war ; that 
the troops should be taken to Boston and sent to England, and that they 
should pledge themselves not to serve again in America during the war. 
These matters being arranged the British army surrendered on the 17th of 
October, and was fed by the Americans, for its provisions were exhausted. 
About six thousand prisoners were surrendered, together with nearly five 
thousand muskets, forty-two brass field-pieces, and a large quantity of 




SURRENDER OF BURGOVNE. 



612 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

military stores. Upon the surrender of Burgoyne, the British garrison at 
Ticonderoga evacuated that place, and retreated into Canada. 

Congress refused to ratify the terms granted to Burgoyne by Gates. It 
was plain that if they were sent to England they could release an equal 
number of troops there, who could be sent to the aid of Sir Henry Clinton 
in New York. This would deprive the United States of one of the most 
important results of the surrender. Burgoyne and two attendants were 
permitted to return to England, but the captive troops were held as pris- 
oners of war, and the next year were marched to Charlottesville, Virginia, 
and quartered in log huts, where the greater part of them remained until 
near the close of the war. 

Some time before Burgoyne's surrender, Sir Henry Clinton, having 
received reinforcements from England, resolved to undertake the capture 
of the forts in the Highlands of the Hudson, the garrisons of which had 
been greatly weakened by the detachments sent from them to AVashington 
and Gates. On the 6th of October he attacked and captured Forts Mont- 
gomery and Clinton. General George Clinton, who commanded at these 
forts, finding he could not hold them, sent to General Putnam for assist- 
ance, but his messenger deserted to the enemy, and the forts were aban- 
doned. General Tryon was sent to occupy Kingston, which he ordered 
to be burned. AVhen the enemy heard of Burgoyne's surrender, they 
retreated, setting fire to the house of every patriot along the river. 
Clinton then dismantled the captured forts, and returned to New York, 
taking with him all the heavy cannon and stores. 

The capture of Burgoyne's army was hailed with delight throughout 
the country. It was the most important success of the war, and ])ut an 
end to the danger of invasion from Canada. G^tes was greatly pulled up 
by his triumph, and imagined himself the hero of the war. He sent his 
official report of the surrender to Congress direct, and not through the 
commander-in-chief, as his duty required, thus offering a grave insult to 
"Washington. 

General Schuyler now demanded an investigation of his conduct pre- 
vious to his relinquishment of his command to Gates. He was thoroughly 
acquitted of the charges of mismanagement brought against him by his 
enemies, and was strongly urged by Congress to remain in the army. He 
declined to do so, and resigned his commission ; but was soon afterwards 
returned to Compress from the State of New York. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

AID FROM ABROAD. 

Sufferings of the Army at Valley Forge — Appeals of Washington to Congress — The British 
in Philadelphia — The Conway Cabal — Its Disgraceful Failure — Efforts to Improve the 
Army — Worthlessness of Continental Bills — General Lee Exchanged — Effect of Bur- 
goyne's Surrender upon England — The King is Forced to Agree to Measures of Con- 
ciliation — Action of France — Louis XVI. Recognizes the Independence of the United 
States — Alliance Between the United States and France— Failure of the British Meas- 
ures of Conciliation — Clinton Evacuates Philadelphia — Battle of Monmouth — General 
Lee Dismissed from the Array — Attack upon Newport— Its Failure — Withdrawal of the 
French Fleet to the West Indies— Outrages of the British on Long Island Sound — Mas- 
sacre of Wyoming— The Winter of 1779-80— The Army in Winter Quarters— Robert 
Morris — Condition of Congress — Georgia Subdued by the British — Prevost Attempts to 
take Charleston— Siege of Savannah — Its Failure— Capture of Stony Point — Capture of 
Paulus Hook— The Indians Punished — Naval Affairs— Exploits of John Paul Jones- 
Evacuation of Newport — Settlement of Kentucky — Conquest of the Illinois Country by 
George Rogers Clarke — Settlement of Tennessee. 

11 HE sufferings of the American army during the long winter at 
I Valley Forge were very great. Many were barefooted, and their 
marches through the frost and snow could be traced by the blood 
from their feet. They were without clothing, without food, and 
were utterly unable to keep the field. Yet in spite of these suf- 
ferings many persons severely censured the commander-in-chief for going 
into winter quarters without attacking Philadelphia. In reply to one of 
these remonstrances from the legislature of Pennsylvania, Washington 
wrote to Congress on the 23d of December, 1777 : "Men are confined to 
hospitals or in farmers' houses for want of shoes. We have this day no 
less than two thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight men in camp unfit 
for duty, because they are barefoot and otherwise naked. Our whole 
strength in continental troops amounts to no more than eight thousand 
two hundred in canp fit for duty. Since the fourth instant our numbers 
fit for duty from hardships and exposures have decreased nearly two 
thousand men. Numbers still are obliged to sit all night by fires. Gen- 
tlemen reprobate the going into winter quarters as much as if they 
thought the soldiers were made of stocks and stones. I can assure those 
gentlemen that it is a much easier and less distressing thing to draw 
remonstrances in a comfortable room by a good fireside than to occupy a 
33 513 




514 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



cold, bleak hill, and sleep under frost and snow without clothes or 
blankets. However, although they seem to have little feeling for the 
naked and distressed soldiers, I feel superabundantly for them, and from 
my soul I pity those miseries which it is neither in my power to reliev3 
nor prevent." 

Congress did little or nothing to relieve the sufferings of the army. It 
promised the troops one month's extra pay, but made no effort to provide 
food or clothing l"or them. It authorized Washington to impress what- 
ever articles were needed, but he remonstrated against this arbitrary use 
of power, as he was convinced that it would not supply the wants of the 
army, but would certainly anger the people of the countr}'. Congress 
towards the close of the winter manifested so much h()>;tility to the army 

because of its ap- 
jieals for food and 
clothes, that 
Washington earn- 
estly remonstrated 
against this feel- 
ing and reminded 
that body that the 
troops were " citi- 
zens, having all 
the ties and inter- 
ests of citizens." 
It is not too much 
to say that the per- 
sonal influence of 
Washington went 

further than anything else in keeping the army together during this try- 
ing winter. Under any other commander the troojjs would have dis- 
])ersed. Encouraged by the calm and lofty patience of AVashington, the 
troops remained faithful to their cause and bore their sufferings with a 
heroic fortitude which their descendants will ever bear in grateful honor. 
All this while the British army was comfortably quartered in Phila- 
delphia, and the officers were billeted upon the inhabitants. They were 
amply supplied with every comfort, and their leisure time was given up 
to pleasure and dissipation on a scale the Quaker City had never dreamed 
of. " Bv a proi)ortionate tax on the pay and allowances of each officer a 
house was opened for daily resort, and for weekly balls, with a gaming 
table which had assiduous votaries, and a room devoted to the game of 
chess. Thrice a week plays were enacted by amateur performers. . . 




SUFFERINGS OF THE TROOPS AT VALLEY FORGE. 



AID FROM ABROAD. 515 

The officers, among whom all ranks of the British aristocracy were repre- 
sented, lived in open licentiousness." The contrast between the pleasures 
and ease of these well-fed troops and the sufferings and privations of the 
ragged patriots at Valley Forge was marked indeed; and when it is 
remembered that the comforts of the British could have been purchased 
by the patriots at the price of desertion their heroic constancy becomes 
more striking. 

The patriotism of Washington was not appreciated by all parties. A 
number of discontented members of Congress and officers of the army 
were anxious that he should be removed or forced to resign in order 
that their favorite General Gates might be promoted to the chief com- 
mand of the army. One of the prime movers of the intrigue was an 
Irish adventurer named Conway, who had been promoted to the rank of 
brigadier-general, from which circumstance the plot is known as the 
" Conway Cabal." The entire truth concerning this plot will never be 
known, for after its failure the actors in it were only too glad to disavow 
their connection with it. The conspirators did not dare to make an open 
attack upon the commander-in-chief, but undertook by means of anony- 
mous letters, underhanded appeals to the officers and men of the army, 
and comparisons between Gates' success and what they termed Washing- 
ton's failure, to destroy the confidence of the troops in their leader, and 
to disgust him with his command and so drive him to resign it. Gen- 
erals Mifflin and Gates were very active in this conspiracy, and even 
Sullivan and Wayne were in favor of the scheme of making Gates com- 
mander-in-chief. Dr. Benjamin Rush wrote a letter, to which he did 
not dare sign his name, to Patrick Henry, then governor of Virginia, 
representing the army of AVashington as without a head, and disparaging 
Washington as no general. "A Gates, a Lee, or a Conway," he added, 
" would in a few weeks render them an irresistible body of men. Some 
of the contents of this letter ought to be made public in order to awaken, 
enlighten, and alarm our country." Patrick Henry took no notice of this 
paper save to forward it to Washington. A similar anonymous docu- 
ment was forwarded to Henry Laurens, the president of Congress, who 
also sent it to Washington. Great effiarts were made to win over Lafay- 
ette to the plot, but without the least success. 

Washington was to a great extent aware of the plot against him hut 
took no public notice of it. He was deeply pained by the unjust censure 
to which he was subjected, but he never for a moment liarbored the thought 
of laying down the great work he had assumed. He knew his course 
would bear the most rigid inspection. He knew that the capture of 
Burgoyne's army, which liad made Gates the hero of the hour, was due 



516 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

to no skill on the part of that officer, but was the result of the plan of 
defence Washington had long before arranged with General Schuyler. In 
his efforts to contend against General Howe he was under many disad- 
vantages, not the least of which was the fact that his army was encamped 
in a region abounding in Tories who refused him any support and con- 
stantly aided the British. His army was imperfectly disciplined ; it was 
inferior in numbers and equipment to the enemy ; and was in no condi- 
tion to meet Howe in the open field, still less to undertake the difficult 
tSisk of driving him from his intrenchments at Philadelphia. " Had the 
same spirit pervaded the people of this and the neighboring States, as the 
States of New York and New England," said Washington, " we might 
have had General Howe nearly in the same situation of General Bur- 
goyne." Washington knew that the salvation of the country demanded 
his presence at the head of the army. He trusted to time for his vindi- 
cation, and Avas chiefly anxious that the enemy should not learn of the 
dissensions in the councils and camp of the Americans. He firmly 
opposed the appointment of Conway to the post of " inspector of the 
armies of the United States," but Congress, under the influence of the 
cabal, appointed Conway to that place with the rank of major-general. 

In a little while the action of the conspirators became known and 
aroused such a storm of indignation from the officers and men of the 
army, from the legislatures of the States, and from the great mass of the 
people that Gates and Conway and their associates cowered before it, and 
Congress became heartily ashamed of having given the plot any encour- 
agement. The only effi}ct of the conspiracy was to raise Washington 
hi<rher in the confidence and affection of his countr^'men. The members 
of the conspiracy were ever afterwards anxious to deny their share in it, 
and exerted themselves to prevent the truth concerning it from becoming 
known. 

The punishment of Gates came as soon as he was intrusted with an 
independent command, as we shall see. As for Conway, he was despised 
by the better part of the officers of the army, and found his position so 
unenviable that he addressed a note to Congress complaining that he had 
been badly treated, and intimated his intention to resign because he was 
not ordered to the northern department. Congress was by this time 
ashamed of having bestowed upon him such undeserved honors, and 
gladlv interpreted his letter as an actual resignation of his rank, and at 
once ended the difficulty by accepting it. Conway was profoundly aston- 
ished. He was confident that Congress would become terrified by his 
threat to resign, and urge him to remain in the service, and was utterly 
unprepared for the action of that body. He hastened to explain his 



AID FROM ABROAD. 517 

letter, but was not listened to. Some time after this he ventured to 
denounce the commander-in-chief, and was challenged to a duel by Gen- 
eral Cadwallader, who had already charged him with cowardice at the 
battle of Germantown. Conway was wounded ; and believing himself 
near death wrote to Washington, apologizing for his conduct towards 
him. " You are," he said, " in my eyes the great and good man. May 
vou long enjoy the love, veneration, and esteem of these States whose 
liberties you have asserted by your virtues." His wound was not mortal 
as he had supposed, and he recovered, and soon left the country. 

The winter was passed by Washington in an effort to increase the army, 
and render it more efficient. Baron Steuben, a Prussian officer, who had 
served under Frederick the Great, was appointed inspector, with the rank 
of major-general. He introduced into the army the drill and discipline 
of the Prussian service, and greatly increased its efficiency. The various 
States, save Georgia and South Carolina, were called upon by Congress 
to contribute their quota of troops to the army. In consideration of 
their large slave population, and the necessity of retaining their troops 
for their own defence, those States were excused from compliance with 
this demand. Count Pulaski succeeded in raising an independent body 
of cavalry, and Major Henry Lee organized a regiment of light horse, 
which under his command subsequently became noted as one of the most 
efficient corps of the army. Congress proposed to increase the force of 
the army to sixty thousand men, but was never able to bring it to more 
than half that number. 

The inability of Congress to pay the troops compelled many of the 
officers to leave the army, in order to provide for their families, who were 
suffisring. Congress called upon the States to raise money for the public 
expenses by taxing their people, but some of them neglected to respond 
to this appeal, and the remainder were too poor to render much assistance. 
Congress issued new bills of credit ; but the value of the " Continental 
Currency," as this money was called, had depreciated so greatly that a 
pair of shoes could not be bought for less than from five to six hundred 
dollars in these bills. The Tories and the British depreciated them still 
further by flooding the country with counterfeits. 

A great improvement was made in the supply of provisions furnished 
the army by the appointment of General Greene, at the request of Wash- 
ington, to the post of quartermaster-general, which had been held by 
General Mifflin, who had neglected its duties on all occasions. At the 
urgent solicitation of the commander-in-chief, Greene assumed the dis- 
tasteful position for one year, and discharged its duties with a skill and 
precision which kept the army so well supplied with provisions and 



518 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ammunition that it was never, during his administration, obliged to 
abandon a movement because of a lack of these necessities. 

In April, 1778, General Prescott was exchanged for General Charles 
Lee, who at once returned to duty in the army. During his captivity 
Lee, who was willing to ruin the cause if he could benefit himself, pro- 
posed a plan to the British ministry by which they could, in his opinion, 
bring the war to a successful close. The ministers did not see fit to adopt 
Lee's plan, but filed it away among the British archives, and the traitor 
was exchanged and permitted to resume liis command in the American 
army, to become again a source of trouble and loss to it. * 

In the meantime the American cause had assumed a new phase abroad. 
The English government had confidently expected that Burgoyne's 
expedition would be successful, and the result of his operations was 
watched by France with the deepest anxiety. When news arrived of the 
defeat of Burgoyne the astonishment of King George and his ministers 
was equalled only by their mortification. It was resolved to wipe out 
the humiliation by a more vigorous prosecution of the war. It was 
rumored that France was about to aid the Americans, and that Holland 
was on the point of loaning them money. These rumors aroused the 
English people to a heartier support of the government than they had 
yet given it, and many of the principal cities offered to raise troops to 
supply the places of those who had been surrendered by Burgoyne. At 
the same time the friends of America were greatly encouraged, and 
resolved to make a new effort to put a stop to the war by offering 
America such terras as would either induce her to renew her former con- 
nection with Great Britain, or to become the ally and friend of that 
country. A considerable sum of money was subscribed by these for the 
relief of the American prisoners, who were left by the government 
without even the necessaries of life. 

When Parliament assembled a strong attack was made upon the policy 
of the king by the friends of America. The employment of the Hes- 
sians, and, above all, of the barbarous Indians of North America, whose 
cruelties shocked the English people, was severely denounced. The mer- 
cantile class was seriously discontented. Its trade with America was 
destroyed, and the activity of the American cruisers was so great that six 
hundred English vessels had already been captured ; and it was necessary 
to convoy merchantmen. In* vessels of war, from one port of the kingdom 
to another. Thus far the war had caused an expenditure of twenty 
thousand lives and one hundred millions of dollars, and the conquest of 
America was as far off as at the commencement of hostilities. 



* The reader is referred to the work of Mr. George H. Moore, " The Treason of Gen- 
eral Charles Lee," for the details of this plan. 



AID FROM ABROAD. 519 

Under this pressure the king was constrained to yield, and, in January, 
1788, Lord North presented to Parliament two bills by which his majesty 
hoped to maintain his authority in America, and conciliate his revolted 
subjects. The first of these renounced all intention on the part of Great 
Britain to levy taxes in America ; the other appointed five commissioners 
to negotiate with the Americans for the restoration of the authority of 
England and the close of the war. The consent of the king to these 
measures was wrung from him by the complaints of a large part of the 
English people, and by his fear that France would openly aid the United 
States. These bills involved a direct surrender of the whole ground of 
the war ; but indicated no change of opinion on the part of the kin^. 

This action on the part of Great Britain aroused the French govern- 
ment to a more energetic course. Louis XVI. was opposed to treating 
with the United States; but the French ministers were aware that a 
prompt recognition on their part of the independence of the republic 
would effectually neutralize the measures of Great Britain, and prevent a 
reconciliation. France was perfectly willing that America and England 
should weaken each other by their contest, but she was resolved that 
Great Britain should never recover her colonies. The capture of Bur- 
goyne's army had demonstrated the ability of America to continue the 
war, and the French ministers resolved to lose no time in concluding an 
alliance with her. On the 17th of December, 1777, the Count de Ver- 
gennes caused Franklin and Deane to be informed of the king's intention 
not only to acknowledge but to support the independence of America, 
and on the 6th of February a treaty of friendship and commerce, and a 
second treaty of defensive alliance, were concluded between the United 
States and France. The latter bound the United States to support 
France in case Great Britain should declare war against her. The king 
of France acknowledged the independence of the United States of 
America, and agreed to assist them with his fleet and army. No jieace 
was to be made without mutual consent, and not until the independence 
of the United States should be acknowledged by Great Britain. These 
treaties were ratified by Congress, and were hailed with joy by the Ameri- 
cans, whose confidence was revived by the assurance of the assistance of 
one of the most powerful states of Europe. 

When the news of the treaties was received in England, the friends of 
America urged the government to abandon the war, and acknowledge the 
independence of the United States, as the only means of retaining the 
good feeling and trade of that country. The government would not 
even entertain the proposition. The most it would do was to pass the 
conciliatory bills of Lord North, if they failed to accom])lish the 



520 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



desired end the war must go on. In March France formally communi- 
cated to England her treaties with America. This was regarded by- 
England as equivalent to a declaration of war, and the British ambas- 
sador was at once recalled from Paris. 

In June the British commissioners, appointed to treat under Lord 
North's conciliatory measures, arrived in America and opened negotia- 
tions. Congress demanded, as a prelude to any negotiations, that the 
independence of the United States should be recognized by England, and 
her fleets and armies withdrawn from America. The commissioners 
having no authority to treat upon any such basis returned to England, 

having first made several in- 
effectual efforts to detach j)rom- 
inent Americans from the cause 
by bribery. 

The course of Sir William 
Howe had not pleased the 
British government, and he 
was removed from his com- 
mand x)n the 11th of May, 
1788, and was replaced by Sir 
Henry Clinton. About the 
same time Clinton was in- 
formed by his government 
that a large French fleet might 
be expected at any moment on 
the American coast, and was 
ordered to evacuate Philadel- 
phia and concentrate all his 
forces at New York. He ac- 
cordingly sent his sick and 
wounded, and most of his stores, with his fleet around to New York by 
sea; while, with his army, twelve thousand strong, he left Philadelphia 
on the 18th of June, and, crossing the Delaware, began his n)arch 
through New Jersey to New York. As soon as "Washington learned of 
his movement he broke up his camp, on the 24th of June, and crossed 
the Delaware in pursuit of the British army. The intense heat of tiie 
weather, and the heavy train Avhich the British carried with them, caused 
them to move very slowly, and Washington soon overtook them. .V 
council of war was called, at which General Charles Lee, who held the 
second rank in the American army, urged that Washington should con- 
find his efforts to harassing the British on the march. It was resolved. 




SIR HENRY CLINTON. 



AID FROM ABROAD. 521 

however, to attack the enemy and force them to a general engagement. 
Lee at first declined to take any part in the battle, but at the last moment 
changed his mind, and solicited a command. 

Upon the adjournment of the council of war, on the 27th of June, 
Washington sent Lafayette, with two thousand men, to occupy the hills 
near Monmouth Court-house, and confine the enemy to the plains. On 
the morning of the 28th of June Lee, who had asked for a command, 
was sent forward by Washington, with two brigades, to attack the enemy. 
Upon coming up with Lafayette, who was his junior, Lee assumed the 
command of the whole advanced force, and marched in the direction of 
the enemy, who had encamped on the previous night near Monmouth 
Court-house, and had resumed their march, early on the morning of the 
28th. As soon as Clinton heard of Lee's advance, he determined to 
drive him back, and for this purpose wheeled about with his whole rear 
division, and made a sharp attack upon Lee, who fell back to higher 
ground. A misunderstanding of his order caused one of his subordinate 
officers to abandon his position, and Lee's whole force fell back in some 
confusion. In the excitement of the moment Lee forgot to send word to 
Washington of his movement, and the first the commander-in-chief, who 
was advancing with the main body, knew of it was the right of Lee's 
command falling back rapidly, and in disorder. Riding up to the fugi- 
tives he asked them why they were retreating, and was answered that 
they did not know, but had been ordered to do so. Suspecting that the 
retreat had been ordered for the purpose of ruining the plan of battle, 
Washington hastened forward until he met General Lee, and sternly 
demanded of him: "What is the meaning of all this, sir?" Lee was 
disconcerted for a moment, and then answered that the retreat was con- 
trary to his orders ; and moreover that he did not wish to encounter the 
whole British army. " I am sorry," said Washington, " that you under- 
took the command unless you meant to fight the enemy." Lee answered 
that he did not think it prudent to bring on a general engagement. 
Washington replied, sternly: " Whatever your opinion may have been, I 
expect my orders to be obeyed." 

Washington at once reformed the men on a commanding eminence, 
and hurried the main body of the Americans forward to their support. 
The British soon appeared in force, and endeavored to dislodge the 
Americans from their position, and failing in this, attempted, but without 
success, to turn their left flank. The battle lasted until nightfall, and 
the American army bivouacked on the field, expecting to renew the 
engagement the next morning ; but during the night Clinton skilfully 
withdrew from his lines and continued his retreat. The weather was so 



522 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

warm that Washington did not deem it prudent to continue the pursuit, 
and Clinton was allowed to regain New York without further molesta- 
tion. The Americans lost about two hundred men in this engagement, 
a number of whom died from the effects of the extreme heat. The British 
lost three hundred men. During the retreat, two thousand Hessians 
deserted from the British ranks. 

As General Lee possessed a large share of the confidence of the com- 
mander-in-chief, he might have saved himself from the consequences of 
his fault, had he sought to explain his conduct in a proper manner. On 
the day after the battle he addressed an insulting letter to Washington, and 
met the reply of the commander-in-chief with another letter still more 
disrespectful in tone, demanding a court of inquiry. The court found 
him guilty of disobedience of orders, and of disrespect to the commander- 
in-chief, and sentenced him to be suspended from his rank for one year. 
Towards the close of his term of punishment he addressed an insolent 
letter to Congress, in consequence of some fancied neglect, and was dis- 
missed from the army. A few years later he died in Philadelphia. 

After the battle of Monmouth, AVashington halted for a short time to 
refresh his men, and then marching to the Hudson crossed that stream, 
and took position at AVhite Plains, in New York, to be ready to coope- 
rate with the French fleet, which was daily expected, in an attack uj)on 
the city of New York. The French fleet under Count D'Estaing, with 
four thousand troops on board, had arrived in the Delaware just after 
Lord Howe had sailed for New York. Failing to find the enemy in the 
Delaware, D'Estaing sailed for New York, but Lord Howe withdrew 
his vessels into Raritan bay, and as the larger French ships could not 
cross the bar, the contemplated attack upon New York was abandoned, 
to the great regret of Washington. 

The French fleet brought the American commissioners who had nego- 
tiated the treaty with France, and also Monsieur Gerard, the first am- 
bassador from the French king to the United States. 

In place of the combined attack upon New York, it was resolved by 
Washington, in concert with the French admiral, to attack Newport and 
drive the British out of Rhode Island. The British had established one 
of their j)rincipal depots of supplies at this point, and had there a force 
of six thousand men under General Pio-ot. It was arrano;ed that a force 
of American troops under General Sullivan should attack the enemy by 
land, while the French fleet and army should cooperate with Sullivan 
from the sea. On the 29th of July D'Estaing reached Narragansett bay 
with his fleet, and on the 8th of August entered Newport harbor, in spite 
of the fire of the British batteries. A whole week had been lost, how- 



AW FROM ABROAD. 523 

ever, by the failure of the American troops to reach the positions assigned 
them as promptly as the French fleet. The delay was unavoidable, but 
it ruined the enterprise. On the 9th Lord Howe arrived off Newport 
harbor with his fleet to the assistance of General Pigot. On the 10th 
D'Estaing sailed otit to engage the British fleet, but before this could 
be effected a sudden and terrible storm scattered both fleets. Howe 
returned to New York, and D'Estaing made his way back to Narra- 
gansett bay in a crippled condition. Instead of landing the four thou- 
sand French troops he had brought with him, the French admiral sailed 
to Boston with his whole force to refit. 

Sullivan in the meantime had crossed from the mainland to the island 
of Rhode Island, and had taken position before the British intrenchments 
in front of Newport. Here he awaited the return of the French fleet, 
and in the meanwhih kept up a steady fire upon the British works. 
Upon D'Estaing's return he informed Sullivan of his intention to sail to 
Boston to refit his ships. Sullivan earnestly begged him to remain two 
or three days, as the British must certainly surrender by the end of that 
time. D'Estaing refused to do so. Sullivan then asked that the French 
troops might be left to cooperate with him, and this also was refused. 
Left alone, Sullivan was obliged to retreat to the mainland, as he learned 
that aid was on its way from New York to Pigot. He effected this 
movement with skill and success, on the night of the 30th of August. 
The next day Sir Henry Clinton reached Newport with a squadron of 
several ships and a reinforcement of four thousand men. 

As he had arrived too late to attack the force under Sullivan, Clinton 
sent the troops he had brought with him, under INIajor-General Grey, to 
ravage the coasts to the eastward. Grey destroyed a large number of 
vessels along the coasts, and stripped Fair Haven, New Bedford, and the 
island of Martha's Vineyard of everything that could be carried off", and 
returned to New York laden with plunder. 

Late in October a British fleet which had been despatched from Eng- 
land under Admiral Byron in pursuit of D'Estaing, arrived off" Boston 
harbor. Byron was unwilling to venture within the harbor, and the 
French would not leave their place of security, and the English remained 
off" Boston until a storm arose and scattered their fleet. On the 1st of 
November the French, taking advantage of the enforced Avithdrawal of 
their enemy, stood out to sea and sailed for the West Indies, and on the 
same day Clinton despatched a force of five thousand British trooi)s from 
New York to the West Indies. 

Brutal as was the conduct of General Grey, it had been already sur- 
passed by the British and their Indian allies in Pennsylvania. The 



524 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



inhabitants of Wyoming valley, a beautiful region on the Susquehanna, 
had driven away the Tories from that region, and these had resolved 
upon revenge. Early in July a force of about eleven hundred Tories 
and Indians, under Colonel John Butler and the Indian chief Brandt, 
entered the Wyoming valley. Nearly all the able-lbodied settlers were 
absent with the American army, and upon hearing of the approach of 
the enemy a small force had been despatched by Washington under 
Colonel Zebulon Butler, to the assistance of the settlers. This force was 
defeated by the Tories and Indians, who then proceeded to lay waste the 
valley and murder the inhabitants. They performed their bloody work 
in the most barbarous manner, and the beautiful valley was made a deso- 
lation. In the following month Cherry valley in New York was ravaged 
with equal cruelty by a force of Tories and Indians, and the inhabitants 
were either murdered or carried into captivity. The entire region of the 

upper Susquehanna 
and Delaware and the 
valley of the Mohawk 
were at the mercy of 
the savage allies of 
Great Britain. 

In the latter part 
of November, Sir 
Henry Clinton sent 
a force of two thou- 
sand men from New 
York under Colonel 
Campbell to attack Savannah, Georgia, which was held by a garrison of 
one thousand men under General Robert Howe. The British carried 
the American position after a sharp engagement, and on the 29th of 
December, Savannah surrendered to them. General Prevost, the English 
commander in Florida, now repaired to Savannah, and assumed the com- 
mand. On his march across the country he captured Sunbury, a fort 
of considerable importance. Upon reaching Savannah he sent Colonel 
Campbell to seize Augusta, which was quickly secured and fortified. 
Georgia was thus entirely subdued by the British by the middle of 
January, 1779. 

After the failure of the attack upon Newport the American army went 
into winter quarters, occupying a series of cantonments extending from 
the eastern end of Long Island sound to the Delaware. This disposition 
enabled them to oppose a force to the British at every importajit point. 
AVashington established his head-quarters at Middlebrook, New Jersey, 



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SURRENDER OF SAVANNAH. 



AID FROM ABROAD. 525 

near the centre of his line. The winter passed away without any event 
of importance. The British held New York and Newport with too 
strong a force to make an attack upon either post successful, and the 
withdrawal of the French fleet to the West Indies left Washington 
without any means of encountering the naval force of the enemy. 

The season was not without its trials, however. Washington wrote 
at the beginning of the year 1779, "Our affairs are in a more distressed, 
ruinous, and deplorable condition than they have been since the com- 
mencement of the war." The currency of the country grew more worth- 
less every day. During the year 1779 the enormous sum of one hunrded 
and thirty-one million of dollars was issued in continental bills. The 
magnitude of the volume of the currency only served to depreciate it 
more and more, and though supplies and articles of trade were plentiful, 
tiieir owners refused to accept the depreciated bills of Congress, and 
would sell for gold and silver only. "A wagon-load of money," Washing- 
ton wrote to the president of Congress, " will not purchase a wagon-load 
of provisions." During the year the currency depreciated from $8 for one 
dollar to $41.50 for one dollar. Congress had so little specie that every- 
thing must have gone to ruin but for the exertions of Robert Morris, a 
member of Congress from Pennsylvania, and a leading merchant of 
Philadelphia, who borrowed large sums of coin on his own credit, and 
loaned them to the government. This he continued to do throughout 
the war. 

Congress had long before this been deprived of many of its ablest mem- 
bers, who had resigned their seats in order to accept appointments in their 
own States, or to enter the army. Their places were filled with weaker 
men, and many dissensions mark the deliberations of the Congress of 
this period. Many members of Congress and a large part of the people 
seemed to regard the alliance with France as decisive of the war, and 
were disposed to relax their efforts. During the winter it was proposed 
to join the French in an expedition for the recovery of Canada for France, 
and the scheme found favor with a majority of the delegates in Congress. 
Washington opposed it with firmness. He pointed out to Congress the 
difficulties of the undertaking, and declared his conviction that it was 
not to the interest of the United States that a power different in race, 
language and religion from the people of this republic should have a 
footing upon this continent. In addition to this he did not desire the 
people of the United States to increase their obligations to a foreign, even 
though a friendly, power. 

The American forces in the Southern States were commanded by Gen- 
eral Benjamin Lincoln. The Tories were very numerous and very active 



n'2(j' 



Jiis'i'ony OF Till-: i;mti:i> .s/i/7.x 



ill (liis iT|;i(»n, niiil (li«" lirliii!^ hrlwfcn lliciii iiiul tlic |t;i(rio(.M was out' <»(' 
(ln' hillcrt'Mt lloHtililv, luul uricii mmiili'stt'il il.Mcll" in Mttotly niid rflciillcsH 
nmllicl.s. St'\M>M liiiiitlri'il Tofit's ninicr ( 'oloiicl Hoytl si-l oul in l'\'l»- 
niarv, I77i>, lo join ('oloiicl ( 'Min|»l>ill ii( Aiii;ns(n. < )n llir 1 i(li (hoy 
\\r\c iiKiiclvfd ;il Ki'KIc ficflv, l»y i\ lon't' ol" patriols niuli-r C 'tiltincl I'ickons, 
lllitl were (IcIfMlftl willi lic;i\y loss. Pickens liun^' live ol' liis prisoiu'i's 
as friiilms. 

(icii('r:il Lincoln now sciii ( Icncnil Aslic willi two (lionsnnd men (o 
«lii\c tlic lliilisli onl ol' AniMistn. U|ion Itciirin^' ut' his apiiroiicli (N)lniu>l 

('!un|»lK'll cvncnalcd 
A ii^nsl a and Icll 
l>:ick (o I'n'icr creek, 
u small stream aluiut 
hallway to Savan- 
nah. .\slu> ("oliowcd 
him, tail without oh- 
serviiii!; |)ro|M>r cau- 
tion, and on the .'>d 
ol' March was sur- 
jtrised and route*! hy 
('am|»lHll, with tho 
loss ol" n ea i" I v his 
entir(> lorce. I'lii.s 
del'eat encouni^'ed 
(Jeneral l*rc\(>st to 
atlcm|it tlu* i'a|>tnn» 
ol' ( "harloton. I lo 
marched ra p id ly 
across the comitry 
to (Miarlcston, ami d(>manded its snrrcndtM-. l,incoln, wlu» had heen 
nMufonMnl, no soon<>r heanl ol' this mo\'enieiil tiian he hastened hy t'orced 
inju*(<h(>s to the relii>l" ol" Charh'ston, and tnnnpclKd I'rcvost to ivtiro to St. 
«l(»hn'.M island, opposite tho maiidand. The Hritish throw up a nniouht 
lit Stouo Torrv to protect the eros-sinp,- ti> this islautl. It was attacked on 
tho llDth ol" .Innc l>v tlw forces o I' (leneral Liuooh), who won' ropidsetl 
with hoavv loss. .V littK' later I'revost withdrew to Savannah. Tho 
iutouso heat of the wcatluM" suspondinl military tiporatious in tlu> south 
during the rtMuaindcr ol' the summer. 

li\ SeptemlxM", 177i^th(> l-'riMieh licet umlor (.\»uut IVlvst.aiui;- arrivtnl 
olVthe coast of (ii^orijia from tht< \\'(st Intlies, and tho admiral a>;rcc«l to 
join Lincoln in an olVort to rocapiure Sivannah. The .V nurican army 




(II Nil! VI, lll'N.IAMIN l.lN'ClU N'. 



All) FUOM AIH!(f.H>. 527 

Ix'friui ii,H iiivfwimcnl, ol'llic cily on llic li.'ltl ol' ScplciiilKT, ami cvcr^lliiii;^ 
|»n>iiiiH(!<l (iivonil)!}' (or huciuwh ; Itiil, I )'l''iHtiiiii^ l)(!(!iiiiH! im|ml.i('ii(, oC (lie 
(Icliiy (»(' 11 r<';i,iiliir h'u'^c, and <l(H'lar('<l Uial Ik; iiiiiHt rcliini (o Uki VVchI 
Iii(li«'H lo walfli lli«! llriliHli licet in tlioHc vvaUi'H. Havaniiah imiihI, cillicr 
l)(! lakcn \>y aHHaiill., or Ik; would widuiravv I'roni l\n' hIc^o. To |»|('aM(! 
Iiini liincoln conrntnlcd to Hloi-rn the ItiitiHli worliH, and <li<* aHHiinlt wan 
Miad(!<»n llic Utlnd" ( )<'((»I»cr, hut wmm rc|)idH('d witli wvcrr Iomh. J)'MHlaiuj^ 
liiniscIC was wounded, iind tli<; eliivalrouH ( 'ount I'ulaHlu waM killetj. 
Liiiciiln MOW I'el rented ((» ( 'iiarlcMlon, aM<l (lie l''reiieli (Icct Hailed (o (Ik; 
\Ves(- IndicH, liaviiij;" a. Heeond (iiiM; I'aiN'd (o render any real aHHiH(an<'e ((» 
(lie AinerieauH. 'J'IjIh (liHaHt(!r cIohc*! (Jk; <'aiu|»ai{fM lor (Ik; year in lluj 

H(Ml(ll. 

In (lie nieaiidiiK! Sir Henry (nin(on lia<l l»een or(l(;red l»y liin |roverii- 
nient lo liaraHS (lie Anieriean eoiisl, and in aeeordane(! wi(li tiiew; iuHdiie- 
tiouM d('H|)ut(!hed a niiiMlter of |iliiiideriii^ cx|)<!(litionH from New \<>\\i 
aj^aiuHt exposctd |»oiii(H. ()n<! of (liew; waH Hent in May, iMider (ieiatral 
MadiewH, in(o tlie (JlieHa|»(!ul<e, MallieWH entered (Ik; IOIi/al»e(li river, 
])liind<-red (lie towuH of Norfolk and l'orlHnioiit)i, and hiiriied one Iniii- 
drr<l ;ind (liii(y niercliiiiH, vesHelH and H(!V<'ruI HJiijw oC war on tli(! Ml/Or;kH 
at (iOMpoi'l, near I'ortHiiKHidi. II<! then UHr!<!nd<'(| tlu! tlanicH for Home 
diHtaiKio and ravuj^ed i(H HhorcH. II(! destroyi'd in thin expeditirm (wo 
inilliiMiHof dollarH wordi of projxtrty, and carried od'ahout diic(' (lion ',11 id 
lio^Hh(!a<lH of tohaxvo. 

I Ipon (he return of (his cxpedi(ion, CliiHon aneended tin; IlndHon Cor 
the piirpoHc, of dentroying two fortH which (he AineiicjuiH won; (toriHtrnet- 
iii|^ a .short diH(an<;(! l>elow WeH(, l*oin(., Cor (he pro(ce(ioii of ICiti^^*H i'l'vry, 
an iinpor(,aiit cn)HHing-plae<' li«'(vveen (Ik; I'yaM(ern and ]VIjd<lle S(a(eH. One 
oC (hcHc, whi(!|j WUH JK'injr huilt a(, S(()iiy ]*oint, wuh aliandoned. Tho 
work on V<'r|)Ianek'H I*oin(, on (he cant Hide of the Hudnon, iiiiiii<'dia(,ely 
oppoHit(!, wiiH (;onipelle<l to Hiirrender <!urly in June, 

Iletiirninjj; to New York, C/linton wsnt (i(!H<!ral Tryon with (wen(y-nve 
hundred men to plunder (he (joant of Lon^; iHland Hoinid. lie plund(;red 
Now Haven, hiirned Kairlield and Norwalk, and eommit(ed other oiit- 
rajreH at Sag Harbor, on J>ong iHlaixl. In the course of a few dayn tluH 
inhuman wre((!h Imrned two Imtidred and fifty <lw(;iling-houHeH, live 
cliiirch(!H, and one hundred and twenfy-five harnn aiai H(oreH. Many of 
th(! inhal)i(an(H were (Tueljy miirder(;d, and a nnmlxT of womftn were 
oii(raj;ed hy (he liridnh (roopM. Tryon woidd liave carried liiH outra^^en 
further had he not liccri rceailcd to N<'W York hy C'lin(<ai, who fcired 
that WaHliin}^t<»n was ahoiit (o attack hini. 

The I0H8 of Stony Point mw a wjriouH Mow to WuHJii^igt^m, an it com- 



628 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



pelled him to establish a new line of communication between the opposite 
sides of the Hudson by a longer and more tedious route through the 
Highlands. He resolved, therefore, the recapture of the post from the 
British at all hazards. The British had greatly strengthened the fort, 
which the Americans had left unfinished, and the only way in which it 
could be captured was by a surj^rise. It was a desperate undertaking, and 
Washington proposed to General Anthony Wayne to attempt it. Wayne 
readily consented, and the two generals made a careful reconnoissance of 

the position. It was 



agreed to make the 
attempt at midnight, 
and in order to 
guard against a be- 
trayal of the move- 
ment every dog in 
the vicinity was put 
to death. A negro 
who visited the fort 
regularly to sell 
fruit, and who had 
been for some time 
acting as a spy for 
the Americans, 
agreed to guide them 
to the work. 

At midnight on 
the 15th of July, 
the storming party, 
guided by the ne- 
gro, approached the 
fort in two divi- 
his musket lest the 
the movement. The 




GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE. 



load 



sions. Not a man was permitted to 
accidental discharge of a gun should ruin 
negro, accompanied by two soldiers who were disguised as farmers, 
approached the first sentinel and gave the countersign. The sen- 
tinel was at once seized and gagged, and the same was done with the 
second sentinel. The third, however, gave the alarm, and the garrison 
flew to arms and opened a sharp fire upon the Americans. The latter 
now dashed forward at a run, scaled the parapet, and in a few moments 
the two opposite divisions met in the centre of the fort. The Americans 
took more than five hundred prisoners, and all the supplies and artillery 



AW FROM ABROAD. 



529 



of the fort fell into their hands. Though they were justly exasperated by 
the brutal outrages of the British, which we have related, they conducted 
themselves towards their prisoners with a noble humanity. The British 
historian Stednian declares, " They (the Americans) would have been fully 
justified in putting the garrison to the sword; not one man of which was 
put to death but in fair combat." It was one of the most brilliant expe- 
ditions of the war. Wayne now proceeded to prepare for the reduction 
of the fort at Verplanck's Point, but while he was thus engaged a heavy 
British force ascended the river to its relief, and he was obliged to forego 
his attack, and also to abandon Stony Point. 

On the night of the 18th of June, Major Henry Lee made a bold dash 




STORMING OF STONY POINT. 



at the British fort at Paulus Hook, now Jersey City, and captured it, 
taking one hundred and fifty-nine prisoners. The British riiade great 
efforts to intercei)t him, but he effected his retreat in safety, bringing off 
his prisoners, and losing only two men. For these gallant exploits 
Wayne and Lee were each voted a gold medal by Congress. 

Towards the close of the summer of 1779, Washington resolved to in- 
flict upon the Indians a severe punishment for their outrages upon the 
whites, and especially for the massacres of Wyoming and Cherry valley 
in the previous year. Early in August General Sullivan was sent into 
western New York with three thousand men, with orders to ravage the 
country of the Six Nations. He was joined by General James Clinton 
34 



530 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



with two tliousand men, and on the 29th of August attacked and defeated 
a force of seventeen hundred Indians and Tories'at Newtown, now El- 
mira. Sullivan followed up this victory by pushing forward into the 
Indian country, and laying it Avaste with fire and sword. In the course 
of a few weeks he destroyed more than forty Indian villages, and burned 
all the cornfields and orchards. The beautiful valley of the Genesee was 
made a desert, and to avoid starvation the Indians and their Tory allies 
were obliged to emigrate to Canada. They were quieted but for a time 
by the terrible vengeance of the Americans, and soon renewed their 
depredations, and continued them to the end of the war. 

Congress had made great efforts to increase the force of the navy, 

and the number of American men- 
of-war had been materially en- 
larged. Many of them had been 
captured, however, by the enemy, 
and the navy was still weak and 
unable to render much service to 
the cause. The privateers were 
unusually active, and were hunted 
with unremitting vigilance by the 
English war vessels. They man- 
aged to inflict great losses upon 
the commerce of Great Britain, 
however. A number of American 
cruisei's were fitted out in France, 
and kept the English coast in 
terror. 

John Paul Jones, a native of 
Scotland, who had been brought to 
Virginia at an early age, Avas one of the first naval officers commissioned 
by Congress. lie Avas given the command of the " Ranger," a ve&sel of 
eighteen guns, and by his brilliant and daring exploits kept the English 
coast in a state of terror, and even ventured to attack exposed points on 
the coast of Scotland. In 1779 he was given command of a small 
squadron of three ships of war fitted out in France, and sailing from 
L'Oricnt, proceeded on a cruise along the coast of Great Britain. On 
the 2od of September, he fell in with a fleet of menihantmen convoyed by 
two English frigates, and at once attacked them. The battle began at 
seven in the evening, and was continued for three hours with great fury. 
Jones lashed his flagship, the " Bon Homme Richard," to the English 
frigate " Serapis," and the two vessels fought muzzle to muzzle until the 




LIEUTKNANT-COLONKL HENRY LEE. 



AID FROM ABROAD. 



531 




"Serapis" surrendered. The other Englisli vessel was also captured. 

The battle was one of the most desperate in the annals of naval warfare, 

and Jones' flagship was so badly injured that it sunk in a few hours after 

the fighting was over. 

In October, Sir Henry 

Clinton, in obedience to 

orders from home, evacuated 

Newport, and concentrated 

his forces at New York, 

which place he believed was 

in dan<rer of an attack bv the 

Americans and French. 

Until the close of the season 

Washington cherished the 

hope that the French fleet 

would return and assist him 

in an effort to regain New 

York, and had called out the 

militia for this purpose. 

When he learned that D'Es- 

taing had sailed to the West 

Indies after the milure of the 

attack upon Savannah, he dismissed the militia to their homes, and went 

into winter quarters in New Jersey, with his head-quarters at Mor- 

ristown. 

While these events had been transpiring upon the Atlantic seaboard, 

the United States had been steadily pushing their way westward beyond 

the mountains. In 1769, before 
the commencement of the Revo- 
lution, the beautiful region now 
known as Kentucky had been 
visited and explored by Daniel 
Boone, a famous Indian hunter. 
He was charmed with the beauty 
of the country and the excellence 
of the climate, and resolved to 

make it his home. The reports of Boone and his companions aroused a 

great interest in the new country among the inhabitants of the older settle- 
ments in Virginia and North Carolina, more especially as it was in this 

region that the lands given to the Virginia troops for their services in the 

French war were located. Surveyors were soon after sent out to lay off 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 




COAT OF ARMS OF KENTUCKY. 



532 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



these lands, and in 1773 a party under Captain Bullit readied the falls 
of the Ohio, and built a fortified camp there for the purpose of surveyinw 
the region. This was the commencement of the city of Louisville, but 
the actual settlement of the place was not begun until 1778. In 1774 
Ilarrodsburg was founded by James Harrod, one of Boone's companions ; 
and in 1775 Daniel Boone bui't a fort on the site of the present town of 
Boonesborough. The savages made repeated attaci<s upon his party, but 
failed to drive them away. The fort was finished by the middle of April, 
and soon after Boone was joined by his wife and daughters, the first 
white women in Kentucky. 

The region of Kentucky was claimed by Virginia, but the settlers sub- 
mitted to the authority of that province with impatience. They sent a 

delegate to the Continental 
Congress in October, 1775, 
and claimed representation in 
that body as an independent 
colony under the name of 
Transylvania ; but the dele- 
gate of the fourteenth colony 
was not admitted by Congress, 
as Virginia claimed the terri- 
tory as her own. In the spring 
g^g of 1777 the general assembly 
of Virginia organized the 
Kentucky region as a county, 
and established a court of 
quarter sessions at Harrods- 
burg. In this condition Ken- 
tucky remained during the 
Revolution. The population increased rapidly in spite of the war and 
of tlie unremitting hostility of the Indians. 

During the Revolution the Kentucky settlements suffered very much 
from the hostility of the Indians, who were urged on by the emissaries 
of Great Britain to a war of extermination. The principal agent of the 
mother country in this barbarous warfare was Hamilton, the British 
commander at Detroit. In order to put a stop to his intrigues and de- 
prive the Indians of his aid. Congress resolvefl to despatch a force to 
attack Detroit. 

While this plan was in contemplation the State of Virginia, in 1778, 
sent Colonel George Rogers Clarke with a force of two hundred men to 
conquer the territory northwest of the Ohio, which Virginia claimed as 




DANIEL BOONE. 



AID FROM ABROAD. 



533 




a part of lier jiosscssions. Clarke Avas a backwoodsman, but one of 
nature's heroes. He as;-enibled liis men at Pittsburg, and descended the 
Ohio to the falls in flat-boats. There he established a settlement of 
thirteen families, the germ of the present city of Louisville. Being 
joined by some Kentuckians he continued his descent of the river to a 
short distance below the mouth of the Tennessee. Landing and conceal- 
ing his boats, he struck across the country and surprised and captured 
the town of Kas- 
kaskia, within the ^fe 
limits of the present ^==^-^- 
State of Indiana. 
A detachment was 
sent to Kahokia, 
and received its sub- 
mission. The peo- 
ple of these towns 
were of French 
origin, and M'cre 
greatly averse to the H 
English rule under ^B 
which they had ^^ 
lived since the con- 
quest of Canada. 
The allianc J between 
the United States 
and France made 
them very willing 
to acknowledge the 
authority of t!ie 
Union, to v>diich 
they readily swore 
allegiance. The 
fort at Vincennes 
was in a weak condition and was held by a small garrison, and readily 
submitted to Clarke. 

Hamilton no sooner heard of the successes of Clarke than he set out 
from Detroit on the 7th of October, 1778, with a force of three hundred 
and fifty warriors, and on the 17th of December reoccupied Vincennes. 
He now prepared to drive the Americans out of the Illinois country, and 
spent the winter in trying to arouse the savages against them. He 
offered a significant reward for every American scalp brought in to him, 




GENERAL GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE. 



534 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



but offered nothing for prisoners. At the same time lie proposed to 
invade Virginia in the spring with an overwhelming force of Indians. 

Clarke and his party were in very great danger. They were entirely 
cut off from Virginia and without hope of reinforcements. In this 
emergency, Clarke, who had learned that Hamilton had greatly weakened 
the garrison at Vincennes, resolved to stake the fate of the west on a 
single issue, and attempt the capture of that post. On the 7th of Feb- 
ruary, 1779, he left Kaskaskia with one hundred and thirty men, and 
marched across the country towards A^incennes. On the 18th they were 
within nine miles of Vincennes. The Wabash had overflowed the 
country along its banks, and in order to reach the object of their march, 




FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY. 

Clarke and his men were obliged to cross the submerged lands, up to 
their armpits in water. They were five days in crossing these "drowned 
lands," and had the weather been less mild, must have perished. On 
the 23d Vincennes was reached, and the town was at once carried. 
Clarke then laid siege to the fort, assisted in this task by the inhabitants 
of the town, and in twenty-four hours compelled Hamilton and his men 
to surrender themselves prisoners of war. 

Clarke was unable to advance against Detroit because of the insuffi- 
ciencv of his force. His successes, however! were amonsr the most im- 
portant of the war. They not oidy put an end to the British scheme of 
a general Indian war along the western frontier of the United States, 
but established the authority of the Union over the country cast of the 
Mississippi, and prevented Great Britain from asserting a claim to that 



AID FROM ABROAD. 



535 



region at the conclusion of peace, a few years later. Returning to the 
Ohio, Clarke built a blockhouse at the falls. The conquered territory- 
was claimed by Virginia, and was erected by the legislature of that State 
into the county of Illinois. By order of Governor Jefferson of Virginia, 
Clarke established a fort on the Mississippi, about five miles below the 
mouth of the Ohio, which he named Fort Jefferson, and entered into 
friendly relations with the Spaniards at St. Louis. 

The Tennessee region, which formed a part of the province of North 
Carolina, had been settled previous to the outbreak of hostilities. Fort 
Loudon, about 30 miles southwest 
of Knoxville, was built in 1756, and 
in 1770 the Cumberland valley was 
settled, and Nashville wan founded. 
By the commencement of the revo- 
lution the Tennessee country was 
quite thickly settled, and the popula- 
tion was increasing at an encouraging 
rate. In 1776 the Cherokees, incited by the British, waged a for- 
midable war upon the settlers, but were defeated by the forces of Vir- 
ginia and North Carolina. A little later the legislature of North Caro- 
lina organized the Tennessee settlements as the " District of Washington." 




COAT OF ARMS OF TKNNKSSF,E. 




CHAPTER XXX. 

THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 

Severity of the Winter oi 1779-80 — Sufferings of the American Army — Clinton Sails for 
the Carolinas — Colonel Tarleton — Capture of Charleston — Conquest of South Carolina — 
Gates in Command of the Southern Army — Battle of Camden — Exploits of Marion and 
Sumter — Advance of Cornwallis — Battle of King's Mountain — Gates Succeeded by 
General Greene — Knyphausen's Expeditions into New Jersey — Arrival of the French 
Fleet and Army — Arnold's Treason — The Plot for the Betrayal of West Point — Arrest of 
Major Andre — Flight of Arnold — Execution of Andre — Mutiny of the Pennsylvania 
and New Jersey Troops — Measures of Congress — Arnold Capti-r. s Richmond, Virginia — 
Battle of tiie Cowpens — Masterly Retreat of General Greene — Cornwallis Baffled — Battle 
of Guilford Court House — Cornwallis at Wilmington — Battle of Hobkirk's Hill — Siege 
of Ninety-Six — Execution of Colonel Havne — Battle of Eutaw Si)rings — Washington 
Decides to Attack New Yoi^ — The French Army on the Hudson — Financial Aflairs — 
Resumption of Specie Payments — Message from the Count De Grasse — Cornwallis at 
Yorktown — The American Army Moves Southward — Siege of Yorktown — Surrender of 
Cornwallis — Effect of the News in England — Indian Troubles — Efforts in England for 
Peace — Negotiations Opened — Treaty of Paris — End of the War — The Army Disbanded 
— Washington Resigns his Commission. 

'Of HE winter of 1779-80 was passed by the American army in huts 
near JNIorristown. It was one of the severest seasons ever ex- 
perienced in America, The harbor of New York was frozen 
^/"^■D over as far as the Narrows, and the ice was strong enough to 
bear the heaviest artillery. Communication between New York 
and the sea was entirely cut off, and the British garrison and the citizens 
suffered from a scarcity of provisions. Knyphausen was afraid the 
Americans would seek to pass the Hudson on the ice and attack the city, 
and landed the crews of the shipping in the harbor, and added them to 
the garrison. His precautions were useless, as the American army Avas 
too Aveak and too poorly supplied to undertake the capture of New York. 
The troops at Morristown suffered very greatly during the winter. 
They had scarcely clothing enough to protect them from the cold ; and 
provisions were so scarce that in order to keep his men from starvation, 
Washington was compelled to impress supplies from the people of the 
surrounding country. The heavy snows made the army entirely depen- 
dent upon New Jersey for its subsistence, as transportation from a long 
distance could not be attempted. The people of New Jersey bore the 
536 



eF 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAB. 



537 



sacrifices imposed upon them with a noble cheerfulness, and though their 
State was drained almost to exhaustion, were untiring in their efforts to 
provide food and clothing for the troops. The Continental currency had 
fallen so low that one dollar in silver was worth thirty dollars in paper 
by the beginning of the year 1780; but neither officers nor men could 
obtain their pay in this depreciated currency. It was almost impossible 
for the government to purchase anything with its notes. 

About the last of December, 1789, Sir Plenry Clinton, leaving a strong 
garrison under General Knyphausen to hold Kew York, sailed south, 
with the greater part of his army, in the fleet of Admiral Arbuthnot. He 





CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, IN 1875. 

I^roceeded first to Savannah, and then moved north^vard for the purpose 
of besieging Charleston. General Lincoln exerted himself with energy to 
fortify that city. Four thousand citizens enrolled themselves to assist the 
regular garrison in the defence, but only two hundred militia from the 
interior responded to Lincoln's call for aid. Reinforcements were received 
from Virginia and Xorth Carolina, and Lincoln was able to muster seven 
thousand men, of whom but two thousand were regular troops. In 
February, 1780, the British landed at St. John's island, about thirty 
miles below Charleston. Clinton advanced towards the city along the 
banks of the Ashley, while the fleet sailed around to force an entrance 
into the harbor. The advance of Clinton was very gradual, and Lincoln 



638 inSTOBY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

was enabled to strengthen his works, and prepare for a siege. It was not 
until early in April that Clinton's army appeared before the American 
works and began preparations to reduce them. A day or two later the 
British fleet passed Fort Moultrie with but little loss, and took position 
off the city. 

Clinton had lost nearly all his horses on the voyage from New York, 
and was anxious to replace them from the country north of Charleston. 
The Americans had stationed bodies of militia at different points north of 
the city to keep open the communications with Charleston, and to prevent 
the foraging parties of the British from reaching the interior. Clinton 
intrusted the task of breaking up these posts and obtaining fresh horses 
to Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton, a young and energetic officer. 
Tarleton was short of stature, of a dark, swarthy complexion, and broad 
shouldered and muscular. He was insensible to fatigue, unscrupulous as 
to tlie means by which he accomplished his objects, merciless in battle, 
and unflagging in pursuit. He was one of the most efficient officers in 
the Englisii army, and one of the most cruel. By purchase from friends 
and seizures from foes, he soon supplied Clinton with all the horses he 
needed. He then began his attempt to break up the American posts 
north of Charleston. On the night of the 14th of April, he surprised a 
body of fourteen hundred cavalry under General Huger and Colonel 
"William AVasliington, at Monk's Corner, about thirty miles north of 
Charleston. The Americans were defeated with a loss of one hundred 
prisoners and four hundred wagons laden with stores. A little later Fort 
Moultrie surrendered, and soon after Tarleton cut to pieces another 
detachment of American cavalry. 

Charleston was now completely invested, and the siege was pressed with 
vigor by Clinton. Lincoln's situation became every day more hopeless. 
The fire of tlie Britisli artillery destroyed his defences and dismounted 
his cannon, and as he was entirely out off from the country he had no 
hope of relief from without. On the 9th of May, a terrible fire was 
oj)encd upon the defences and the city of Charleston. The city was set 
on fire in five places, and the American works were reduced to a mass of 
ruins. On the 12th, Lincoln surrendered the town and his army to Sir 
Henry Clinton, The prisoners, including every male adult in the city, 
numbered about six thousand men. The regulars were held as prisoners 
of war, but the militia were dismissed to their homes on their promise 
not to serve again during the war. 

Clinton followed up his (-apturc of the city by a series of vigorous meas- 
ures. Tarleton was despatched into the interior to attack a Virginia 
regiment under Colonel Beaufort, Avhich was advancing to the relief of 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 539 

Charleston. Beaufort began his retreat as soon as he heard of the surren- 
der of Charleston, but was overtaken and surprised by Tarleton at Wax- 
haw's, on the boundary of North Carolina. The British had made a forced 
march of one hundred and five miles in fifty-four hours. They gave no 
quarter to the Americans, and put to the sword all who were unable to 
escape. Their barbarous conduct on this occasion was termed by the 
American's '* Tarleton's quarters." A second column was sent by Clinton 
towards Augusta, and a third towards Camden to reduce the country 
between Charleston and those points. They encountered but little 
resistance. Clinton issued a proclamation threatening to visit the severest 
punishments upon those who refused to submit to the royal authority ; 
and this was followed a little later by another, offering pardon to all who 
would return to their allegiance and assist in restoring the authority of 
the king. The measures of the British commander were entirely success- 
ful, and South Carolina was so completely subjugated that early in June, 
Sir Henry Clinton sailed for New York, leaving Lord Cornwallis to 
complete the conquest of the State. The country abounded in Tories, who 
exerted themselves actively to assist the British commander in his efforts 
to hold the Carolinas in subjection. Large numbers of them jinned the 
British army, and " loyal legions " were formed in various parts of the 
country. The only resistance kept up by the Americans was maintained 
by the partisan corps of patriots led by Marion, Sumter, and Pickens. 
The exploits of these daring bands caused the British commander to feel 
that he could not hold the Carolinas except by the aid of a strong force, and 
kept him in a state of constant uneasiness. On the 16th of August, Sum- 
ter defeated a large body of British and Tories at Ilanging Bock, east of 
the Wateree river. Large numbers of negroes deserted their masters and 
fled to the British. 

In order to offer a definite resistance to the British, and to collect a 
regular army to oppose them, the Baron De Kalb was sent to take com- 
mand of the troops in the south, and all the regulars south of Pennsyl- 
vania were ordered to join him. De Kalb managed to collect about two 
regiments, and with these moved slowly southward. A lack of })rovisions 
forced him to halt three weeks on Deep river, one of the upper tributaries 
of the Cape Fear. 

Matters were so bad in the south that Congress resolved to send 
General Gates, the conqueror of Burgoyne, to take command of the army 
in that quarter. General Charles Lee, who knew that Gates was not the 
man to retrieve such losses, predicted that " his northern laurels would 
soon be changed into southern willows." Gates hastened southward, and 
overtook De Kalb at Deep river, and assumed the command. De Kaib 



r, 10 msTOUY OF Till:' /^\777•.7) STATES. 

advised liiiii to movi' inlo South Carolina by a circuitous rout** tlirou<rIi 
the county <>< Mc<'l<lcnl)ur«jj, which was true to the patriot cause, and where 
provisions couM l>e easily obtained. (Jates declined to take his advice, 
and marched towards CanuK'n hy the <lirect route, which led throuj^li a 
barren and almost uninhabited rc<i;ion. 1 le was suri' that, his wagons I'rom 
tiic Morlli laden with |tro\isi()ns would ovcitake the troo]is in two days; 
but he was mislaUcn : the wa<:;ons never made their appearance, and the 
troops sull'crcd u,reallv tVom hun<;'cr and disease. 11 is army increased 
everv day bv rcint'oi'ccmcnis iVoni \'ir>;inia and Noi"(h Carolina. On the 
I'MU ol" Aunusl, he reached Clermont, about twelve miles from Cainilen. 
His Ibrce now amounted to ncai'ly lour thousand men, nearly two-ihirds 
ol" whom wen- ( \tnlincntals. 

U|)on thea|)proach ol'Ciates, liord Kawdon, the British commander in 
this part ol' llu' Stale, ("ell bacl< to (\imden, \vlit>re he was joined by (\)rn- 
wallis, who had just airi\-cd iVom Charleston, and who assumed the com- 
mand. ( )n the nielli ol" (lie I TjiIi, ( Jates moved nearer (o (\imdcn, and 
at the same time Cornwallis advanced to attack (Jales, whom he ho|)ed to 
surjirisc. The advanced "uards cncounti'red each other in the woods, 
and (he t\\(i armies hailed until morniuL;;. The bailie bepm with dawn, 
on the itllh of .Vnu'usl. The militia lied at the first chari;t> of tlu' British, 
but the Conlinenl.als, unth'r the brave De Kalb, stood firm, tliouuh allacUed 
in iVoiil and llank. Al len^lh 1 >e Kalb fell morlally wtMinded, and the 
Conlinenlals i;ave wav. Thi' American army was completely routed, 
and was broken up into small |)arties and scattered throiiLih the country. 
Tlu'se conliiined a disorderlv retreat, closely followed for about thirty 
miles b\ Tarlelon's cavalry, who cut tluMu (h)wn without mercy. 

'I'he bailie of Camden was the most disastrous defeat incurred by the 
Americans duriii<;- the whole war. Thev lost nearly eiL!,hleeu hundred 
men in killed and prisoners, and all theii" arlilh'ry and store's. A few 
ilays after the battle, (Jali's reachi'd Charlolle, North (^arolina, Nvith about 
two hundred men, the remains of the army \vhich his incapacity hail 
ruined. 

A few days previous to thi> battle, Sumter surpris(>d a detachment 
con vovinii; stores to the British army at Canulen, and took two hundred 
pi-isoners. As soiMi as ('ornwallis heard ot'lhis, he sent '['arleton in pur- 
s'lit of the " Came C(U'k," as he styled Sumter. Tarlclon pushed forward 
\ylth siu'h viii'or that half of his men and horses wen* broken «lown. lie 
overtook Sumter al l''ishin>x Creek, on the west bank of llu' Catawba, and 
routed him with the loss of the u;realcr |)art oi' his partisan corps, and 
re.seu(>d the ]»risoiiers. 

All uniteil and orirani/etl resistance to the lirilish in the Can)Iin.as now 



TlfE' CLOSI': OF Til /'J [i'AIi. 



r>n 



ccMscd Cm' :i tinic!. Tlio true [)()li(!y of (Joriiwjilli.s wiis to ('((iiciliutc! tlio 
|»cn|tl<' by iicts of (!l<;in(!ii('y, l»ul iii.stc.ul of this Ik; <'x:is|)(!riil('(l tlicm hy 
liis iiimocxjHsary HC'V(;rity. Amoiij^ tlio |)ris()ii('rH taken at ilw dcCcat of 
Siiiiitcr \v(!r(' a riimiluT who ha<l ^iv(!n i\u\'\r parol not to .serve diirinj^ th(! 
war. Some of these w'-re han}i;e(l on tht; s|>ot; the remainder wen; siih- 
jeefed to a Wiven; inipri.soiunent. The.se sovoriticH arouHcd a desire for 
ven}^(!jm(;(! arnonjr the p(!o|)I(!, and <r;iv('. many re(!rnits to Marion, who 
from the swamj)s of th(! h)W(!r 1 *<■(!(!(; maintained a constant and .s(;vere 
j)artiHan warfare aj^ainst the Jiritish. At the sanH! time, Sumter by-great 
exertions recruit- 
ed his eommand, 
and resnme'd his 
operations in th(; 
upj)er (ronntry. 
These hands were 
defiei(!nt in arms 
at first, hut suj)- 
plied th(!mselve8 
fi'oiii llie enemy. 
They m:i(h! their 
own <^unj)owd(;r, 
oast their own 
])iiile(s, and pro- 
vided food for 
themselves and 
tlieir liors(!S. I5v 
their ra|)id and 
seeret movements 
tlie.y l<(!j)t the 
I>ritish in a state 
of constant ahirm. 
They would make 

a sudden and unexpeett^d attarrk upon the; enemy at some ex|)osed poinf, 
and before pursuit couhl be attempted wouM be miles away, or safe in 
the labyrinths of the swamps. 

<^iat(!s eontimied to retreat slowly to the northward after his defenl. 
II(; had now about a thousand men with him. Virginia and Maryland 
made grcjat exertions to reinforce him, but without Hue(!(!S8. 

In September, Cornwallis advanced northward with the main body of 
his army. Upon reaching Charlotte he despatched (^olonel Ferguson, 
one of liis m(wt trusted officers, to rally the Tories among the mountains 




OKN'DIIAI- rilAN<'IH MAFtlON. 



542 



HISTORr OF THE VXJTED STATES. 



in the interior. Comwallis intended to ad\-auce from Charlotte bv m-iv 
of Scilislnin* and HilI<lx>roiigh into Virginia, and form a junction witli a 
ibnce to be s»f?ut to the lo>ver Chesa|>eake bv Sir Ilenrv Clinton. The 
sueoess of this movement would ci>:nplete tlie subjug:\tion of the south. 
The j^triots in the country through Avhieh his army jvissod wore vorv 
active. His expras^e? were captunxi or shot, and his plans made known 
to the Americans. While Ferguson wiis ou the march, Cornw-allis 
adviiuced to Salisbarr. 

The movement of Ferguson roused the patriots of the interior counties 
to arnis, and they assemblcvl rapidly, with the intention of cutting him 
off from the army under Coruwallis. They came from all directions, 




BATTLE OF KIXG S MOTTXTAIX. 



from as far as Kentucky and Tennessee. Their weapons were their rifles, 
to the use of which they had lieen trained from childhood ; tliey had no 
baggage ; and they moved forward as rapidly as their horses could carr\- 
tbem. These forces had been gathering for several days before the rumors 
of their march reached Colonel Ferguson. He regarded the re|>orts with 
distrust at first, but upon receiving more accurate information began a 
rapid retreat. About the same time the various parties of the Americans 
eflected a junction. They numbered three thousand men. A council of 
war was held, and it was resolved to send forward a detachment to bring 
Ferguson to a stand, and to follow with the main body as quickly as 
possible. 

Xine hundred men, mounted on swift horses, were sent forw-ard, under 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 543 

Colonel Campbell. Th^ rode fiw thirty-aix boars, a large part of the 
time throagh a drendbh^ ndo, and dianooiited but ooce during this 
perio<l. Ferguson, alarmed and astounded at this determination to crush 
him, tell back to a strong position on Kjng's mountain, near the Cr.-.- - ' 
He was attacked ti»ere on the 7th of October bv the Americi: - 
defeateil after a hotlj contested fight. Ferguson and about one hundnni 
and fifty of his men were killeil, the remainder were compelled to sur- 
render. The prisoners numbereil ab.tut nine hundred and fifty, of whom 
about one hundred and fifty were wounded. The Amerieans lost twentv 
killed and a somewhat larger number wounded. The Xorth Carolinians 
selected ten of the Tories who ha«i earned their fate by their cruelties to the 
Americans, and hanged them on the spot. The Americans then separated 
and returned home, atler seeing th^ pris€»efs aafe in the hands of the 
proper authorities. Their victory raised the drooping spirits of their 
coantrymen, and enooorageii them to fresh exertions to resist the British. 
As soon as Comwallis heard of it, he abandoned his forward movement, 
and, falling back into South Carolina, took position between the Broad 
and Saluda rivers. He remained th^re until the close of the year. 

Marion took advantage of the ciiange of feeling caused by the victorv 
of King's mountain to renew his opnations on the Pe<lee, but Tarleton 
compelled him to withdraw to his fiBtness in the swamps. Sumter was 
more saccessful in the northern part of the State, and defeated a detach- 
ment sent in pursuit of him. Tarleton then went after him in person, 
but was defeated and forced to retreat. Sumter was wounded in this 
engagement, and was compelled to withdraw from the field for several 
months. Daring this periixl his command, deprived of their leader, dis- 
banded. The contest in the Carolinas degenerated into a savage civil 
war. The patriots and Tories fought each other wherever they met, and 
ilestroyed each other s property throughout the State. The country was 
thus kept in constant terror. 

Upon the retreat of Comwallis from Salisbury, Grates advance! south- 
ward as far as Charlotte. Here he was relieved of his command bv 
General Xathaniel Greene, who had been a{^inted by Congress, at the 
urgent solicitation of Washh^ton, to take duu^ of the southern depart- 
ment. Gates had given great dissatisfaction by his feilure in the south, 
and Congress (wdered a court of inquiry to examine into his cfmduot. 
Greene was placed in charge of the entire south from Delaware to Ge<irgia, 
" subject to the control of the commamier-iorchief." Thus Washinsjton 
%v.v? given the supreme direction of the war. Greene possessed his entire 
<x->nfiden<H?, and the mL>st cordial and affectionate relations existed between 
them. Greene found the remnants of Gates' armv in a half mutinous 



544 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



condition. The men were without pay, without clothing, and suffering 
for the necessaries of life. Reinforcements were sent him from the north, 
among which were Morgan's regiment of riflemen, Lee's legion of light- 
horse, and several batteries of artillery. 

We must now return to the army under Washington. As the spring 
opened the sufferings of the troops at INIorristown increased. Food was 
so scarce that the troops were driven to desperation. Two regiments of 

Connecticut troops 
declared their in- 
tention to abandon 
the army and march 
home, or wrest pro- 
visions from the peo- 
ple of the surround- 
ing country by force. 
Washington was 
compelled to exert 
all his influence and 
authority to restore 
order. It was with 
great difficulty that 
jirovisions were pro- 
cured, and the wants 
of the troops sup- 
plied. Tiie danger 
f caused by this state 
of affairs was so 
great that Congress 
authorized Wash- 
ington to declare 
martial law. 

The news of these 
troubles in the 
American camp induced Knyphausen to undertake an expedition into 
New Jersey. He landed at Elizabeth town, with five thousand men, on 
the 6th of June, and marched towards Springfield. His advance was 
Warmly contested by the militia of the region, but lie penetrated as far as 
the village of Connecticut Farms. Beiiig unable to advance farther he 
caused the village to be sacked and burned ; and Mrs. Caldwell, the wife 
of the minister of the village, was murdered by some of the British 
troops. The militia of the region gathered in force, and Knyphausen 
was obliged to make a hasty retreat to Elizabethtown. 




GENERAL NATHANIEL GREENE. 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 545 

The niurcler of Mrs. Caldwell aroused the most intense excitement 
throughout New Jersey. It was denounced as one of the most infamous 
deeds of the war, and gave rise to a fierce and general spirit of vengeance. 
Her husband, an eloquent and highly esteemed minister, animated his 
countrymen by his stirring sermons, and he soon had the satisfaction of 
seeing that his labors were not in vain. 

After the return of Sir Henry Clinton to New York, Washington 
moved a part of his troops towards the Highlands. Knyphausen again 
advanced from Elizabethtown towards Springfield, hoping to gain the 
passes beyond Morristown before his march should be discovered. His 
advance was detected, however, and General Greene, who was in com- 
mand of the American forces, prepared to resist him. A sharp fight 
ensued, in which Greene succeeded in checking the British advance. 
The New Jersey regiment, of which Caldwell was chaplain, was engaged 
in the battle. The wadding of the men gave out, and Caldwell, mount- 
ing his horse, galloped to the Presbyterian church, and returned with an 
armful of Dr. Watts' hymn books, Avhich he distributed among the 
trooi)S, with the j^ious injunction, " Now put Watts into them, boys ! " 
The militia came flocking in to the support of General Greene, and 
Knyphausen finding it impossible to advance farther, burned Springfield 
and fell biack to Elizabethtown. 

The Americans were greatly encouraged in the spring by the return 
of Lafayette, who had spent the winter in France. He had been success- 
ful in his endeavors to induce the French court to send another fleet and 
army to the assistance of the patriots ; and he now brought the good news 
that a new expedition was on its way to America. In July a fleet under 
Count de Tiernay, with an army of seven thousand men, under Count de 
Rochambeau, reached Newport. The Count de Rochambeau was directed 
by his government to place himself under the orders of General Washing- 
ton in order to avoid disputes that might arise from military etiquette. 
This expedition was the first division of the army to be sent to America 
by France. The second division was to sail from Brest, but was unable 
to do so, as it was blockaded in that harbor by a British squadron. 
Thus the supplies of arms and clothing which were to have been sent to 
the American army were delayed, and the troops under Washington were 
unable to cooperate with the French in an attack upon New York. An 
English fleet had followed the French across the Atlantic, and Clinton 
was anxious to secure its cooperation in an attack upon the French at 
Newport. He could not agree with Admiral Arbuthnot upon a plan of 
attack, and the English admiral contented himself with blockading the 
French in Newport harbor. Washington called out the militia of New 
35 



546 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



England to assist in the defence of Newport in case of an attack. The 
French fleet was shut up in this port, and to the great disappointment 
of Washington, was unable to take part in any combined operation. 

Some weeks later Washington, anxious to strike a decisive blow at the 
enemy, invited the French commanders, De Tiernay and Rochambeau, to 
meet him at Hartford, to arrange a plan for an attack upon New York. 
The meeting was held, but it was decided to ask the cooperation of the 
French admiral in the West Indies, as the fleet at Newport Avas not 
strong enough to cope with the British fleet at New York. Until the 
answer of the admiral was received nothing could be done. 

While absent at Hartford a plot was discovered which involved 
the fair fame of one of the most brilliant officers of the American army. 
General Benedict Arnold had been disabled by the wounds he had 

received at Quebec and Saratoga from 
undertaking active service, and through 
the influence of Washington had been 
placed in command of Philadelphia 
after its evacuation by Clinton in 1778. 
There he lived in a style far beyond 
his means, and became involved in 
debts, which he was unable to jiay. 
To raise the funds to discharge them 
he engaged in privateering and mer- 
cantile speculations. These were gen- 
erally unsuccessful, and merely in- 
creased his difficulties. His haughty 
and overbearing manner involved him 
in a quarrel with the authorities of Pennsylvania, who accused him before 
Congress of abusing his official position and misusing the public funds. 
He was tried by a court-martial and was sentenced to be reprimanded 
by the commander-in-chief. Washington performed this disagreeable 
task as delicately as possible, but diil not lose his confidence in Arnold. 
He knew him as an able officer, but, as his acquaintance with him was 
limited, was most likely ignorant of the faults of Arnold's character, 
which were well known to the members of Congress from Connecticut, 
who had no confidence in him. To them he was known to be naturally 
dishonest, regardless of the rights of others, and cruel and tyrannical 
in his dealings with those under his authority. Arnold never forgave 
the disgrace inflicted upon him by the sentence of the court-martial, and 
cherished the determination to be revenged upon Washington for the 
reprimand received from him. 




THE CLOSE OF THE WAE. 



547 



"While in Philadelphia, Arnold had married a member of a Tory 
family, and was thus enabled to communicate readily Avith the British 
officers. He opened a correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton, signing 
himself Gustavus. He kept up this correspondence for several months, 
and then made himself kno^'n to the British commander. In the mean- 
time, at his earnest solicitation, he was appointed by Washington, in 
August, 1780, to the command of West Point, the strongest and most 
important fortress in America. He did this with the deliberate intention 
of betraying the post into the hands of the enemy. 

The correspondence had been conducted on the part of Sir Henry 
Clinton by Major John Andre of the British army, a young man of amia- 
ble character and more than ordinary accomplishments. He wrote under 
the assumed name of John Anderson. He was an especial favorite of 
Sir Henry Clinton, and was beloved 
by the whole army in which he served. 
Soon after the appointment ©f Arnold 
to the command of West Point, Andre 
volunteered to go up the Hudson and 
have an interview with him for the pur- 
pose of completing the arrangements for 
the betrayal of that fortress. His offer 
was accepted by Clinton, and he ascend- 
ed the Hudson as far as Haverstraw 
in the sloop of war "Vulture." He 
was set ashore and was met near Hav- 
erstraw on the west bank of the Hud- 
son by General Arnold, on the 22d of 
September. The meeting took place about dark, and the night had passed 
before the arrangements were completed. Much against his will, Andre 
was compelled to pass the next day within the American lines. During 
the 23d the " Vulture," having attracted the attention of the Americans, 
was fired upon and forced to drop down the river. Andr^ found the man 
who had set him ashore unwilling to row him back to the sloop, and he 
was compelled to return to New York by land. He changed his uniform 
for a citizen's dress, and, provided Ayith a pass from Arnold, under the 
name of John Anderson, set out for New York along the east bank of 
the river, which he deemed safer than the opposite shore. 

All went well until Andre reached the vicinity of Tarrytown. There 
he was stopped by three young men, John Paulding, David Williams, 
and Isaac Van Wart. They asked him his name and destination, and 
he, supposing them to be Tories, did not use the pass given him by Arnold, 




548 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



but frankly avowed himself a British officer travelling on important busi- 
ness. To his dismay he then learned that his captors were of the patriot 
party, and he offered them his watch, purse, and any reward thoy might 
name if they would suffer him to proceed. They refused to allow him 
to stir a step, and searched his person. "Miey found concealed in his 
boofe papers giving the plan of West Point, and an account of its gar- 
rison. Andre was taken by his captors before Colonel Jamison, the com- 
mander of the nearest American post. Jamison recognized the hand- 
writing as that of Arnold, but, unwilling to believe that his commander 
could be guilty of treason, he detained the prisoner, and wrote to Arnold 
informing him of the arrest of Andre and of the papers found upon his 
person. The papers themselves he forwarded by a special messenger to 
Washington, who was on his return from Hartford. 

Arnold received Colonel Jamison's letter as he sat at breakfast with 
some of his officers. He concealed his emotion, and excusing himself 
to his guests, called his 
wife from the room , 
told her he must flee 
for his life, and hast- 
ening to his barge, 
escaped down the ri ver 
to the "Vulture," 
and was received on 
board by the com- 
mander of that vessel. 
From his place of 
safety he wrote to 
Washington asking him to protect his wife, who, he declared, was inno- 
cent of any share in his plot. 

When he learned that Arnold was safe, Andre wrote to Washington, 
and confessed the whole plot. He was at once brought to trial upon the 
charge of being within the American lines as a spy. The court-martial 
was presided over by General Greene, and Lafayette and Steuben were 
among its members. Andre asserted that he had been induced to enter 
the American linas by the misrepresentations of Arnold. He denied that 
he was a spy, and though cautioned not to say anything that might crim- 
inate himself, he frankly confessed the whole plot. He was sentenced 
upon his own confession to be hanged. Clinton made great exertions 
to save him, and Washington, whose sympathy was won by the amiable 
character of Andr^, was anxious to spare him. The circumstances of the 
case demanded that the law should be executed, and Andrd Aas hangetl 




CAPTUBE OF MAJOR ANDKE. 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 



549 



at Tappan, near the Hudson, on the 2d of October, 1780. Congress 
voted to each of his three captors a pension of two hundred dollars for 
life and a silver medal. 

The plot of Arnold had been discovered by the merest chance, and the 
American cause had narrowly escaped a crushing disaster. The loss of 
West Point would have given the British the entire control of the Hud- 
son, and have enabled them to separate New England from the Middle 
and Southern States. It might have proved fatal to the cause, and cer- 
tainly would have reduced Washington to great extremities. Arnold 




WEST POINT IN 1875. 



received for his treachery the sum of ten tliousand pounds sterling and a 
commission as brigadier-general in the English service. He was regarded 
with general contempt by the English officers, who refused to associate 
with him, and were greatly averse to serving under him. 

In the summer of 1780 it seemed likely that England would be 
involved in war Avith the whole civilized world. The claim of Great 
Britain to the right to search the vessels of neutral nations for articles 
contraband of war was productive of great annoyance to the northern 
powers, whose commerce was subjected to serious loss by these arbitrary 



550 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

measures. Catharine II. of Russia determined to resist it, and organized 
with Denmark and Sweden a league known as the "Armed Neutrality," 
for the purpose of enforcing the principle that neutral ships in time of 
war are entitled to carry merchandise without being liable to search or 
seizure by the belligerent powers. 

Holland joined tiiis league, and concluded a secret commercial treaty 
with the United States. This treaty was discovered by Great Britain 
almost immediately, and in the following manner : The American min- 
ister to Holland, Henry Laurens, was captured at sea by a British frigate. 
He threw his papers, the treaty among them, into the sea, but they were 
recovered by an English sailor, who sprang overboard and secured them. 
They were laid before the British government, which demanded that 
Holland should disavow the treaty and the correspondence with the 
United States. The Dutch government returned an evasive answer, and 
England immediately declared war against Holland. The English fleet 
at once proceeded to attack the Dutch possessions and commerce in all 
parts of the world. Holland declared war against Great Britain, and 
her fleet was added to that of France against England. Spain now made 
an alliance with France against England, and sent her fleet to coopei-ate 
with the French in the West Indies, and also laid siege to Gibraltar. The 
Irish about the same time demanded a reform of the many abuses from 
which that island had been suffering since the battle of theBoyne, and this 
demand was sustained by a force of eighty thousand armed Protestant 
volunteers which had been raised for the defence of Ireland against a 
threatened attack of the French. They demanded an independent parlia- 
ment, and even threatened a total separation from Great Britain. In the 
face of these difficulties the spirit of England rose higher than ever, and 
that country, with a vigor worthy of her ancient renown, put forth all 
her energies to find a way out of her di faculties. The whole world was 
arrayed against her, but in the face of it she held her own. The heroism 
manifested by England at this trying period is worthy of the highest 
admiration. 

The American army passed the winter of 1780-81 in cantonments 
east and west of the Hudson, The Pennsylvania troops were stationed 
near ISIorristown, and the New Jersey regiments at Pompton. Though 
the troops were better provided with food than during the previous winter, 
their sufferings were still very severe. They were neglected by Congress, 
which was too nnich occupied with its dissensions to make any serious 
effort to relieve the Mants of the soldiers. The Pennsylvania troops had 
an especial cause of complaint. Their enlistments were for three years or 
the war. The tiiree years had expired, but the government refused to 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 651 

discharge them on the ground that the enlistments were for the period of 
the war, no matter how long it should last. The troops on the other 
hand contended that the words " for the war " meant that the enlistments 
should expire if the war closed in less than three years. 

On the 1st of January, 1781, thirteen hundred Pennsylvania troops 
left the camp at Morristown under arms, and set oif for Philadelphia, to 
obtain redress from Congress. General Wayne, their commander, placed 
himself in front of them, and, pistol in hand, attempted to stop their 
march. In an instant their bayonets were at his breast. "We love, we 
respect you," they exclaimed, " but you are a dead man if you fire. Do 
npt mistake us ; we are not going to the enemy ; were they now to come 
out you would see us fight under your orders, with as much resolution 
and alacrity as ever." They halted at Princeton, where they wc^rc met by 
the agents of Sir Henry Clinton, who endeavored to induce them to join 
the British service. They promptly seized these men and delivered them 
up to General Wayne as spies. At a later period it was proposed to 
reward them for this action, but they refused to accept anything, saying : 
" We ask no reward for doing our duty to our country." 

Congress was greatly alarmed by the approach of these troops, and a 
committee, accompanied by Reed, the president of Pennsylvania, was sent 
to meet them. The committee met the leaders of the mutineers, and 
agreed to relieve their immediate wants, and to secure them their ba(!k 
pay by means of certificates. Permission was given to all who had served 
three years to withdraw from the army. Upon these conditions the troops 
returned to duty. The disaffection in the army was increased by the 
yielding of Congress. On the 20th of January the New Jersey troops 
at Pompton mutinied, but this outbreak was quelled by a detachment 
sent from West Point by Washington. 

The mutiny opened the eyes of tlic country to the sufferings of the 
army, and aroused all parties to the necessity of providing for the troo})s. 
It was clearly understood that a failure to sustain the army would result 
in thft defeat of the cause. Urgent ajipcals were made by Congress to 
all the States, and especially to those of New England, to supply the 
wants of the army, and Congress endeavored to negotiate a loan abroad. 
Direct taxation was resorted to to provide money at once. 

The year 1781 oj)ened with a military expedition under the command 
of the traitor Arnold, now a brigadier-general in the British service. 
Early in January he was sent by Sir Henry Clinton, with sixt(>cn hun- 
dred British and Tories, from New York to the Chesaj)oake, to ravage 
the shores of Virginia. After plundering the plantations along the lower 
bay and the James, Arnold ascended that river, and landing his troo})S 



552 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



marched to Richmond. Thomas Jeiferson, then governor of Virginia, 
called out the militia, but only a handful responded. Arnold occupied 
Richmond, burned the public buildings and some private dwellings, and 
then re-embarked and dropped down the river to Portsmouth. Wash- 
ington was anxious to capture him, and sent Lafayette, with a force 
of twelve hundred men, southw^ard, by land, to prevent Arnold from 
escaping overland to join Cornwallis in the Carolinas, and at the same 
time the French fleet sailed from Newport for the Chesapeake to prevent 
the escape of the traitor by water. The British Admiral Arbuthnot fol- 
lowed the French fleet, and brought it to an engagement off the mouth 
of the Chesapeake. The French were worsted and obliged to return to 
Newport, and Admiral Arbuthnot entered the bay, and reinforced Arnold 
with two thousand British troops, under General Philips, who assumed 

the command at 
Portsmouth, and 
fortified his position 
there. From his 
camp he sent out de- 
tachments to ravage 
the country in all 
directions. La- 
fayette, in the mean- 
time, upon hearing 
of the failure of the 
plan, halted at An- 
napolis, , in Maryland. Arnold, upon being superseded by Philips, 
returned to New York. 

Early in January Cornwallis, who was at AVinnsborongh, South Caro- 
lina, sent Colonel TarK;ton, with a force of one thousand cavalry and 
light infantry, to cut off Morgan's division from the column under Gen- 
eral Greene. Morgan was between the Broad and Catawba rivers at the 
time, and upon hearing of Tarleton's approach lx?gan to retreat towards 
the Catawba. Tai'leton pushed on with such speed that Morgan saw he 
must be overtaken. He accordingly halted, and took position at the 
" Cowpens," about thirty miles west of King's mountain, and rested his 
men. Tarlcton arrived in front of this position on the 17th of January, 
and made an impetuous attack upon the Americans. At first he drove 
the militia before him, but Morgan kcei)inghis Continentals well in Imnd, 
suddenly wheeled upon him, and drove him from the field. The two 
forces were about equal. INIorgan lost but eighty men, while the loss of 
the British was over six hundred. Tarleton escapal from the field with 
only a few of his cavalry. 




BATTLE OF THE COWPENS. 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 



553 



Cornwallis moved forward as soon as he learned of Tarleton's defeat. 
He supposed that Morgan would be encumbered with his wounded and 
prisoners, and would be slow in leaving the scene of his victory, and he 
hoped by a rapid march to come up v/ith him, crush him, and rescue the 
prisoners before he could join General Greene. Morgan was much too 
wary to be caught in such a trap. He felt sure Cornwallis would seek to 
avenge Tarleton's defeat, and leaving his wounded under a flag of truce, 
he resumed his retreat with all speed immediately after the battle, and 
hurrying toAvards the Catawba, crossed that river. Two hours after he 
had passed it the ad- 
vance of Cornwallis' 
army reached the bank 
of the river, but, owing 
to a sudden rise in the 
stream, were unable to 
cross it. The British 
were detained in this 
manner for two days, 
during which Morgan 
rested his men, and 
sent off his prisoners 
to a place of safety. 

Two days after the 
passage of the Ca- 
tawba Morgan was 
joined by the troops 
under General Greene, 
who had heard of the 
victory of the Cow- 
pens, and was advanc- 
ing to the assistance of 
his lieutenant. Greene 

was not yet strong enough to meet the British, and he continued the 
retreat towards the Yadkin. He moved slowly, and his rear-guard was 
still engaged in the passage of the Yadkin, Avhen the advanced guard of 
Cornw\illis reached that stream, on the 3d of February. Cornwallis had 
burned all his heavy baggage, and had reduced his army to the strictest 
light marching order, in the hope of being able to intercept Greene. A 
skirmish ensued on the banks of the Yadkin, and nia-ht comino; on the 
British commander deferred the passage of the stream until the next day. 
During the night a heavy rain swelled the river so high that it could not 




GENERAL DANIEL MORGAN. 



554 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

be forded, and the Americans had secured all the boats on the other side. 
Greene, profiting by this delay, hurried on to cross the Dan into Vir- 
ginia, where he could receive reinforcements and supplies. Morgan was 
left to cover the retreat of the army, but falling ill was obliged to relin- 
quish the command of the rear-guard to Colonel Otho H. Williams. 

Cornwallis passed the Yadkin as soon as possible, and strained every 
nerve to prevent Greene from crossing the Dan. He supposed the Ameri- 
cans would not be able to cross at the lower ferries, but would be obliged 
to pass the river higher up, where it could be forded. He therefore 
urged his army to its utmost exertions to secure these fords before the 
arrival of the Americans. Perceiving Cornwallis' error. Colonel Wil- 
liams retreated towards the upper fords, and so confirmed the British 
commander in his delusion. Having led the British sufficiently out of 
the way, Williams wheeled about, and by a rapid march of forty miles 
in twenty-four hours, down the river, rejoined Greene, who had moved 
with all speed to the lower ferries, where, in anticipation of his retreat, 
he had collected a supply of boats. The Dan was passed on the loth of 
February, and the American army was safe from its pursuers. An hour 
or two later Cornwallis, who had discovered his mistake, and had marclied 
with speed from the upper fords, appeared on the opposite bank of the 
river, only to see his adversary safely beyond his reach. The river was 
too deep to be forded, and Greene had all the boats in his possession. 
Cornwallis was deeply mortified at his failure to intercept Greene. He 
had pursued him for over two hundred miles, and had made great sacri- 
fices to come up with him, but the American commander had managed to 
elude him, and had successfully carried out one of the most brilliant 
retreats in history. The Americans regarded their escape as providen- 
tial ; and not without cause. Their way across the Carolinas might be 
tracked by the blood from their feet ; and twice, when the encmv had 
come within gunshot of them, the rising of tlie waters of the Catawba and 
the Yadkin, which they had passed in safety, had held back tlie British 
and enal)led them to escape. After resting his men for a few days on 
the banks of the Dan, Cornwallis fell back to Hillsborough. 

Having received reinforcements. General Greene recrossed the Dan, 
about the last of February, and advanced into the Carolinas to watch 
Cornwallis and encourage the ])atriots of tliat region. Cornwallis, being 
short of supplies, moved slowly southward. Greene followed him cau- 
tiously, too weak to risk a battle, but ready to take advantage of tlie first 
error on the part of his adversary. His movements were conducted Avith 
the utmost circumspection, and in order to guard against a surprise he 
never remained in tlie same place more than one day, and kept secret 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 555 

until the last moment the places he selected for his encampments. In the 
meantime he was gradually receiving reinforcements, from Virginia and 
Maryland, until his army numbered four thousand men. 

Feeling himself strong enough to attack the enemy, Greene left his 
baggage at a point of safety, and advanced to Guilford Court-house, 
seventeen miles distant, with the intention of bringing Cornwallis to a 
decisive engagement. Here he was attacked by Cornwallis, on the 15th 
of March, and after one of the hardest-fought battles of the war, was 
compelled to retreat. Greene withdrew in good order, and Cornwallis, 
though victorious on the field, was so sorely crippled that he was unable 
to make any pursuit, and was obliged to fall back to Wilmington, near 
the mouth of the Cape Fear river. By the time he reached that place, 
his army had been so much weakened by desertions, and losses in battle, 
that it amounted to but fourteen hundred men. 

Greene lost a thousand militia by desertion during his retreat, but was 
soon enabled to supply their places. He then moved into South Carolina 
for the purpose of attacking the British force under Lord Rawdon, which 
was posted at Camden. He advanced to Hobkirk's Hill, about two miles 
from Camden, where he was attacked, on the 25th of April, by Lord 
Rawdon. After a sharp engagement Greene was defeated, and obliged 
to retreat. He withdrew his army in good order, having inflicted upon 
his adversary a loss about equal to his own. Rawdon was unable to 
derive any advantage from his victory, as he could not bring Greene to 
another general engagement. The activity of the American partisan 
corps in his rear alarmed hira for the safety of his communications 
with Charleston, and he abandoned Camden and fell back to Monk's 
Corner. 

In the meantime Lee, Marion, Pickens, and the other partisan leaders 
had broken up the fortified posts of tlie British with such success, that by 
the month of June, 1781, only three positions of importance remained to 
the British in South Carolina — Charleston, Nelson's Ferry, and Fort 
Kinety-six, near the Saluda. The last-named position was of the greatest 
importance, and M'as held by a force of Carolina Tories. Lee and 
Pickens were sent against Augusta, Georgia, and captured it after a close 
investment of seven days. General Greene himself marched against 
Ninety-six, and laid siege to it. Being informed that Lord Rawdon was 
marching to relieve it, he determined to carry the fort by assault before 
Rawdon could arrive. The assault Avas made on the 18th of June, but 
was repulsed with severe loss. Greene then raised the siege and retreated 
across the Saluda. 

Early in July the excessive heat put an end to active operations on the 



556 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



part of the two armies. Greene withdrew to the high hills of the Santee, 
and the British went into camp on the Congaree. A bitter partisan war- 
fare now sprung up between the patriots and the Tories, and continued 
through the summer. Houses were pillaged and burned, farms were 
laid waste, and no quarter was given by either party. Even women and 
children were included in these dreadful massacres. 

Lord Rawdon now resolved to add to the horrors of this warfare by 
executing as traitors those who had given their parole not to engage in the 
war, or had received a protection, if they should be taken in arms. xVmong 
the prisoners taken by the British, at the capture of Charleston, was 
Colonel Isaac Hayne, a distinguished citizen of that place. His wife was 
dying and his children were helpless, and he gave his parole to remain 




BATTLE OP EUTAW SPRINGS. 



neutral, in order to be able to take care of them, and was promised pro- 
tection. At a later period, the British commander being in need of 
reinforcements, Hayne was ordered to take up arms against his country 
in behalf of the king. He regarded himself as relieved from his parole 
by this command, and soon after escaped from Charleston, and raised a 
partisan corps, at the head of which he was captured. He was con- 
demned to die as a traitor ; and though the inhabitants of Charleston, 
both patriot and royalist, petitioned for his ])ardon, it was refused, and 
he was hanged, by order of Lord Rawdon, on the 5th of August. His 
execution was regarded by the Americans as cruel and imjust, and as con- 
trary to military law. General Greene felt himself obliged to retaliate 
by executing as deserters all those prisoners who had formerly served in 
his own army, and so bitter was the feeling of the American troops that 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 557 

they could scarcely be prevented from shooting the British officers who 
fell into their hands. 

Lord Rawdon now sailed for England, and left the command of his 
army to Colonel Stewart, an officer of ability and experience. At the 
close of the summer General Greene, whose army had been increased by 
the commands of Marion and Pickens to twenty-five hundred men, 
resumed the oifensive. He attacked the British at Eutaw Springs, on 
the 8th of September, and after a severely contested battle the left wing 
of the British was routed. In the moment of victory the American 
army stopped to plunder the enemy's camp, and the British taking 
advantage of the delay, rallied and made a stand in a large stone house, 
from which they could not be driven. Greene was forced to draw off 
his troops and leave the field to the British, who lost seven hundred men 
in the engagement. The American loss was five hundred men. Both 
sides claimed the victory ; but the advantage certainly was not with the 
British, who lost more than a third of their men. Colonel Stew^art, in 
view of this loss, fell back to the vicinity of Charleston. Greene fol- 
lowed him as far as Monk's Corner, and then returned to the hills of the 
Santee. The American commander had abundant reason to be satisfied 
wdth the result of his operations in South Carolina. He had rescued the 
greater part of the State from the British, and had confined them to the 
region between the Santee and the lower Savannah. He had repeatedly 
engaged the enemy with the most inadequate means, and under the most 
unfavorable circumstances, and had never failed, even though defeated, 
to accomplish the object for which he fought. He had baffled the British 
commanders over again, and, like William of Orange, had managed to 
derive greater advantages from his reverses than his adversaries were able 
to draw from their victories. 

Washington was well pleased with the achievements, in the south, of 
his most trusted lieutenant. He was very anxious to attempt something 
decisive with his own army, if he could secure the aid of a French army 
and fleet. Two enterprises offered themselves to him — an attack upon 
New York, which had been greatly weakened by detachments sent from 
its garrison to the south, and an expedition against Corn wal lis. That 
commander had left Wilmington, on the 20th of April, and had advanced, 
without encountering any serious resistance, to Petersburg, Virginia. He 
arrived there on the 20th of May, and was joined by the troops under 
General Philips, Avho had been plundering the country along the James 
river. While Washington was hesitating which would be the best course 
to pursue, a French frigate arrived at Newport, with the Count de Barras 
on board, who had come to take command of the fleet at Newport. He 



558 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

brought the good news that a fleet of twenty ships-of-the-line, under the 
Count de Grasse, liaving on board a considerable force of troops, had 
sailed for America, and might be expected to arrive in the course' of a 
few months. Washington held a conference with the Count dc Rocham- 
beau, at Weathersfield, Connecticut, and it Avas resolved to attack New 
York. The French army Mas to march from Newport and form a junc- 
tion with the Americans on the Hudson. A frigate was despatched to 
the West Indies to inform the Count de Grasse of this arrangement, and 
to ask his cooperation in the proposed attack. 

Sir Henry Clinton, who suspected the designs of Washington, now 
ordered I^ord Cornwallis, who had crossed tlie James river, and was at 
Williamsburg, to send him a reinforcement of troops. Cornwallis pre- 
pared to comply with this order, and for that i)urpose marched towards 
Portsmouth, followed cautiously by Lafayette and Steuben, who had with 
them about four thousand American troops. On the march a slight 
engagement occurred, near Westover, between Lafayette and Cornwallis, 
in which the Americans narrowly escaped a defeat. The British army 
crossed to the sout'u side of the James, and a detachment was embarked 
for New York. At this moment a second order was received from Sir 
Henry Clinton, who had received a reinforcement of Hessians from Eng- 
land, directing Cornwallis to retain all his force, choose some central 
position in Virginia, fortify himself in it, and await the development of 
the American plans. Cornwallis should have taken position at Ports- 
mouth, from which place his line of retreat to the south Avould have 
remained intact. In an evil hour for himself he recrossed the James, 
and crossing the peninsula between that river and the York, took position 
at the towns of Gloucester and Yorktown, opposite each other, on the 
York river. He had with him an army of eight thousand effective 
troops, and proceeded to fortify his position with strong intrenchments. 
A number of vessels of war ■were anchored between Yorktown and 
Gloucester to maintain the comnmnicatlon between those points, and to 
assist in the defence of the place. 

During all this time the financial affairs of the republic were growing 
worse and more hopeless. The continental currency had become utterly 
M'orthless, one dollar in paper being worth only one cent in coin, at the 
opening of the year 1781. In the spring of that year Congress sought 
to put an end to its financial troubles by taking the control of the finances 
from a board which had hitherto managed them, and intrusting them to 
Robert Morris, whose services in behalf of the ciiuse have been men- 
tioned before. Morris was an experienced financier, and had opposed, 
with all his energy, the system of making continental money a legal 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 



559^ 



tender. He now made a return to specie payments the condition of his 
acceptance of the trust imposed upon him by Congress. On the 22d of 
May, 1781, Congress most unwillingly resolved : " That the whole debts 
already due by the United States be liquidated as soon as may be to their 
specie value, and funded, if agreeable to the creditors, as a loan upon 
interest ; that the States be severally informed that the calculations of 
the present campaign are made in solid coin, and, therefore, that the 
requisitions from them respectively being grounded on those calculations, 
must be complied with in such manner as eifectually to answer the pur- 
pose designed ; that, experience having evinced the inefficacy of all 
attempts to support the credit of paper money by compulsory acts, it is 







CONTINENTAL BILLS. 



recommended to such States, where laws making paper bills a tender yet 
exist, to repeal the same." On the 31st of May continental bills, being 
no longer a legal tender, ceased to circulate. Henceforth all transactions 
were to be in hard money. The result amply vindicated the wisdom of 
Morris' views. He induced Congress to establish the Bank of the 
United States, at Philadelphia, with a capital of two millions of dollars 
and a charter for ten years. This bank was allowed the privilege of 
issuing its own notes, which it was required to redeem in specie upon 
presentation. This requirement gained for the bank the confidence of 
the people, and capitalists availed themselves of it for the investment of 
their money. Morris used the bank freely in his public operations, and 



660 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



at tlie same time used it 80 wisely that lie was able to .secure all the aid it 
was capable of bestowing without subjecting it to too severe a strain. 
He raised the credit of the government higher than it had ever stood 
before, and was able to do nmch towards paying the soldiers and supply- 
ing them with food and clothing. As often as the public funds failed, he 
pledged his own credit to supply the deficiency. No man did more to 
contribute to tlie success of the cause than Robert Morris ; and no man 



)^ 




SCENE IN THE HIGHLANDS OF THE HUDSON. 



received more ingratitude from the government and people of the Union 
than he. 

In July AVashington was joined, in the Highlands, by the French army 
under Count de Rochambcau, and preparations were made to attack New 
York. An intercepted letter informed Sir Henry Clinton of this design, 
and he exerted himself to put the city in a state of defence. In the 
midst of his preparations "Washington received a letter from the Count de 
Orasse, stating that he would sail for the Chesapeake instead of Newport. 
This decision of the French admiral compelled an entire change of plan 
on the part of the Americans. As De Grasse would not cooperate with 
them, they must abandon the attack upon New York, and attempt the 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 561 

capture of Cornwallis at Yorktown. No time was to bo lost in making 
the attempt, for it was now the month of August. By a series of skilful 
movements Sir Henry Clinton was induced to believe that an attack upon 
New York would soon be made, and at the same time the American 
army was marched rapidly across New Jersey, followed by the French. 
Lafayette, who was in Virginia, was ordered to prevent at all hazards a 
retreat of Cornwallis' army to North Carolina, and was directed to ask 
assistance of General Greene, if necessary. The plan of Washington was 
to blockade Cornwallis in the York river by means of the French fleet, 
and at the same time to besiege him in Yorktown with the army. The 
troops were somewhat unwilling to undertake a southern campaign in 
August, but their good humor was restored at Philadelphia, where they 
received a part of their pay in specie, and a supply of clothing, arms, 
and ammunition, which had just arrived from France. From Phil- 
adelphia the combined armies proceeded to Elkton, at the head of the 
Chesapeake, where they found transports, sent by the French admiral 
and by Lafayette, to convey tlicm to the James river. 

The first intimation Sir Henry Clinton had of a change in the American 
plans was the sudden sailing of the French fleet from Newj)ort on the 
28th of August. Supposing that Do Barras's object was to unite with 
another fleet in the Chesapeake, Clinton sent Admiral Graves to prevent 
the junction. Upon reaching the capes the British admiral was aston- 
ished to find the fleet of the Count de Grassc, consisting of twenty ships- 
of-the-line, anchored within the bay. De Grasse at once })ut to sea as if 
to engage the enemy, but in reality to draw them off and allow De Barras 
to enter the Chesapeake. For five days he amused the English by con- 
stant skirmishing. De Barras at length appeared and passed within the 
capes and De Grasse at once followed him. Admiral Graves was unwill- 
ing to attack Lliis combined force and returned to New York. 

The movement of the American army to the south was known to 
Clinton, but he supposed it was only a manoeuvre to draw him off of Man- 
hattan island into the open country. When the Americans were beyond 
the Delaware and the French fleetfj had effected their junction in the 
Chesapeake, he recognized his mistake and saw that the object of Wash- 
ington was the capture of Cornwallis. It was too late to prevent it; but 
in the hope of compelling Washington to send back a part of his force to 
defend New England, Clinton sent the traitor Arnold with a large body 
of troops to attack New London in Connecticut. On the 6th of Septem- 
ber Arnold captured that town and burned the shipping and a large part 
of the town. He then took Fort Griswold, on the opposite side of the 
Thames, by storm, and basely massacred Colonel Ledyard, the commander, 
36 



562 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and sixty of the garrison after the surrender of the fort. The militia of 
the State were summoned to take up arms for its defence, and responded 
in such numbers that Arnold became alarmed for his safety and returned 
to New York. The object of his expedition failed most signally. Wash- 
ington left Xew England to defend herself and continued his movement 
against Cornwallis. 

Cornwallis was very slow to realize his danger. He believed the small 
force under Lafayette the only command opposed to* him, and on the 10th 
of September wrote to Clinton that he could spare him twelve hundred 
men for the defence of New York. He did not perceive his error until 
the French fleet had anchored in the Chesapeake and cut off his escape 



BURNING OF NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT, BY ARNOLD. 

by water. He then attempted to retreat to North Carolina, as Washing- 
ton had foreseen, but Lafayette, who had been reinforced by three thou- 
sand French troops under the Marquis de St. Simon, from the fleet of 
De Grasse, was too active for him, and finding his retreat impossible, 
Cornwallis sent urgent appeals to Clinton for assistance and strengthened 
his fortifications. 

In the meantime the American and French armies descended the 
Chesapeake, and took position before Yorktown, while the French fleet 
closed the mouth of York river. The siege was begun on the 28th of 
September. Sixteen thousand men were present under Washington's 
orders. Works were erected completely enclosing those of the British, 
and on the 9th of October the cannonade was beo-un. It was continued 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAE. 



563 



for four days, and the British outworks were greatly damaged, and 
several of their vessels in the river were burned by means of red hot shot 
thrown into them by the French vessels. On the 14th two of the 
advanced redoubts of the enemy were stormed and taken, one by the 
Americans, the other by the French. From the positions thus gained a 
very destructive fire was maintained upon the English lines, which were 
broken in many places, while many of their guns were dismounted and 
rendered useless. On the 15th Cornwallis found himself almost out of 
ammunition, and unable to maintain his position but for a few days 
longer. 

In this strait the British commander resolved upon the desperate 
alternative of crossing the York to Gloucester, abandoning his sick 
and wounded and baggage, and endeavoring to force his way north- 
ward by extraordi- 
nary marches to 
New York. It was 
a hopeless under- 
taking, but Cornwal- 
lis resolved to make 
the trial. On the 
night of the 16th of 
October he crossed 
a part of his army 
from Yorktown to 
Gloucester, but a 

sudden storm delayed the passage of the river by the second division 
until after daylight, when it was useless to make the attempt. The first 
division was with difficulty brought back to Yorktown, as the boats were 
exposed to the fire of the American batteries while crossing the river. 
Nothing was left to Cornwallis now but a capitulation, as his works were 
in no condition to withstand an assault, and simple humanity to his men 
demanded that the contest should cease. He sent to Washington an offer 
to surrender and the terms were soon arranged. On the 1 9th of October 
Cornwallis surrendered his army of seven thousand men as prisoners of 
war to Washington, as commander of the allied army, and his shipping, 
seamen, and naval stores to the Count de Grasse, as the representative 
of the king of France. 

Washington despatched one of his aids to Philadelphia to communicate 
the good news to Congress. The officer ])ushed forward with all speed, 
and reached Philadelphia at midnight, and delivered his message. Soon 
the peals of the State-house bell roused the citizens, and the watchmen 




lAFAYETTE STORMING THE KEDOUBT AT YORKTOWN. 



564 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



took up tho cry, " Cornwallis is taken ! Cornwallis is taken ! " The peo- 
ple poured out into. the streets in throngs, ami no one slept in Philadel- 
phia that night. The next day Congress proceeded in a body to a church 
and gave thanks for the great victory. A national thanksgiving was 
ordered, and throughout the whole land rejoicings went up to God for 
the success which all men felt was decisive of the war. 

On the 19th of October, the day of the surrender of Cornwallis, Sir 
Henry Clinton sailed from New York to his assistance with a force of 
seven thousand men. Off the capes he learned of the surrender of the 
British army at Yorktown, and as his fleet was not strong enough to meet 
that of the French he returned at once to New York. 

The news of the surrender of Cornwallis was received in England with 




SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS. 



astonishment and mortification. It was the second time England had 
lost an entire army by capture, and her efforts to subdue the United 
States were no nearer success than they had been at the opening of the 
war. The English people had never regarded the attempt to conquer 
America with favor, and they now became more open and energetic in 
their demands for peace. " Lord North, the prime minister," says an 
English writer, " received the intelligence of the capture of Cornwallis as 
he would have done a cannon ball in his breast ; he paced the room, and 
throwing his arms wildly about, kept exclaiming, ' O God ! it is all over ! 
it is all over ! ' " The king and the aristocracy, however, had no thought 
of yielding yet to the popular pressure, and were resolved to cany on 
the W'ar. 

After the surrender at Yorktown, Washington urged the Count de 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 565 

Grasse to cooperate with General Greene in an attack upon Charleston. 
The French admiral declined to comply with his request, alleging the 
necessity of his immediate return to the West Indies. The French troops 
were quartered for the winter at Williamsburg, Virginia, and the Ameri- 
can army returned northward and resumed its old positions on the 
Hudson. Washington, though convinced that peace was close at hand, 
did not relax his vigilance, and urged upon Congress the necessity of 
preparing for a vigorous campaign the next year ; but so thoroughly was 
Congress carried away by the prospect of peace that his recommendations 
were unheeded. 

In the south the British and Tories were so disheartened by the sur- 
render of Cornvvallis that they ceased active operations and evacuated all 
their posts but Savannah and Charleston. General Greene at once dis- 
posed his army in such a manner as to confine them closely to Charleston. 
In the Northern States the only place held by the British was New York. 

Though active operations had ceased on the part of the two armies, a 
cruel and destructive warfare was continued by the Indian allies of the 
British against the border settlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and 
a similar warfare was maintained by the Tories and Indians along the 
frontier of New York. These outrages involved thfr Christian Delaware 
Indians in the punishment of the guilty savages. The Delawares had 
become converted to Christianity under the influence of the Moravian 
missionaries, and had removed from the Susquehanna to the Muskingum. 
They were suspected by the Americans of the crimes of their heathen 
brethren, and in the spring and summer of 1782 their towns were 
destroyed and numbers of them were slain. The war was carried into 
the country of the Wyandottes by the whites, but with less success. On 
the 6th of June a force of Pennsylvanians under Colonel Crawford was 
defeated by the Wyandottes. In the same summer a band of northern 
Indians led by Simon Girty, a Tory of infamous character, invaded 
Kentucky. They were met by the Kentuckians under Boone, Todd, 
and other leaders. A severe battle was fought at the Big Blue Lick, 
and the Kentuckians were defeated with the loss of nearly half their 
force. 

In the meantime the desire of the English people for the close of the 
war had grown too strong to be resisted, and the king and his ministers 
were at length forced to yield. The impossibility of conquering America 
had become so apparent to the continental nations that in the spring of 
1782 the Dutch republic recognized the independence of the United 
States, and received John Adams as envoy from that government. The 
king of England maintained his obstinate opposition to the wishes of his 



566 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

people to the last moment. On the 22d of February, 1782, a resolution 
was introduced into the House of Commons to put an end to the Ameri- 
can war, and was supported by the leaders of the Whig party. It was 
defeated by a majority of one, but on the 27th of February a similar 
resolution was introduced and was carried by a majority of nineteen. 
On the 20th of March Lord North and his colleagues were forced 
to relinquish their offices, and a new ministry was formed under the 
Marquis of Rockingham. Sir Henry Clinton was removed from his 
command in America, and was succeeded by Sir Guy Carleton, whose 
humane conduct of the war while governor of Canada we have related. 
Carleton arrived in New York in May, 1782, with full powers to open 
negotiations for peace. Ho at once put a stop to the savage Avarfare of 
the Tories and Indians on the borders of western New York, and opened 
a correspondence with Washington proposing a cessation of hostilities 
until a definite treaty of peace could be arranged. 

Five commissioners were appointed by Congress to conclude a treaty 
with Great Britain. They were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John 
Jay, Henry Laurens, who had just been released from the tower of Ix)n- 
don, where he liad been kept a prisoner for about a year, and Thomas 
Jefferson. Mr. Jcffei-son was unable to leave America. Five commis- 
sioners were appointed by Great Britain to treat with " certain colonies " 
named in their instructions. The commissioners from the two countries 
met at Paris, but the American commissioners refused to open the nego- 
tiations except in the name of the " United States of America." This 
right was acknowledged by Great Britain, and on the 30th of November, 

1782, a j^reliminary treaty was signed, which was ratified by Congress in 
April, 1783. This treaty could not be final because by the terms of the 
alliance between the United States and France neither party c(juld make 
a separate treaty of peace with England. In January, 1783, France and 
Great Britain agreed upon terms of peace, and on the 3d of Sei)teinber, 

1783, a final treaty of peace Avas signed by all the nations who had 
engaged in the war — by the United States, France, Spain, and Holland 
on the one side, and Great Britain on the other. Great Britain acknowl- 
edged the independence of the States of the Uni(m in the following 
words : " His Britannic Majesty acknowledges the said Unital States, viz. : 
New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plan- 
tations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, 
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, to be 
free, sovereign, and independent States ; that he treats with them as such ; 
and for himself, his heirs, and successors, relinquishes all claim to the 
government, propriety, and territorial rights of the same, and every part 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 



567 



thereof." It should be observed that the treaty acknowledged the inde- 
pendence and sovereignty of each of the thirteen States^'and not of the 
United States as a single nation. The independence of the States had 
already been recognized by several of the European powers : by Sweden, 
on the 5th of February, 1783 ; by Denmark, on the 25th of February, 
1783; by Spain, on the 24th of March; and by Russia, in July, 1783. 




THE BOWERY, NEW YOEK, IN 1875. 



Treaties of friendship and commerce were entered into between the 
United States and these powers. 

Daring the year 1782 the greater part of the American army was 
encamped at Newburg, on the Hudson. The troops were unpaid, and 
were neglected by Congress and by the various States. Washington 
warned the government of the danger of further neglect of the army, 
but his warning was unheeded, and in March the patience of the army 
was so far exhausted that it was seriously proposed to march to Phiiadel- 



568 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



phia and compel Congress to do justice to the troops. Washington 
appealed to the^fficers to remain patient a little longer, and pledged him- 
self to use his influence with Congress to fulfil its neglected promises to 
the army. His appeal quieted the trouble for a time. Congress shortly 
after agreed to advance full pay to the soldiers for four months, and to 
pay in one gross sum the full pay of the officers for five years. 

The condition of the country was a subject of the gravest apprehen- 
sion. It was plain that the articles of confederation were not capable of 
continuing the Union much longer, and many persons believed that the 
only hope of preserving a regular government, and a permanent union 
to the country, lay in the establishment of a monarchy. In May, 1782, 




WASHINGTON RESIGNING IIIS COMMISSION. 



Colonel Nicola, of the Pennsylvania line, at the instance of a number of 
officers, wrote a letter to Washington proposing the creation of a mon- 
archy, and offering him the crown. Washington indignantly refused to 
entertain the proposition, and severely rebuked the Avriter of the letter. 

In the spring of 1783 the news of the signing of the preliminary 
treaty of j)eacc was received in America, and was officially communicated 
to the nation in a proclamation by Congress. On the 19th of April, 1783, 
just eight years from the commencement of the war at Lexington, the 
close of hostilities was proclaimed, in general orders, to the army at New- 
burg. A general exchange of prisoners followe<l, and large numbers of 
Tories were obliged to leave the country, as they feared to remain after 
the protection of the British forces was withdrawn. They emigrated 
chiefly to Canada, Nova Scotia, and the West Indies. The final treaty 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 569 

having been signed, the army was disbanded on the 3d of November, 
and the troops, with the exception of a small force, returned to their 
homes to enjoy their well-earned honors and the thanks of their grateful 
countrymen. On the 25th of November the British evacuated New 
York, which was at once occupied by a small force of Americans, under 
General Knox. In December Charleston was also evacuated by the 
British. 

On the 2d of December Washington issued a farewell address to the 
army, and on the 4th of that month took leave of the officers at New 
York. He then proceeded to Annapolis, where Congress was in session, 
and on the 23d of December, under circumstances of great solemnity, 
resigned his commission to that body, and after receiving the thanks of 
Congress for the able and faithful manner in which he had discharged 
the task intrusted to him, retired to his home at Mount Vernon, which 
he had not visited for eight years, except for a few hours, while on his 
way to attack Corn wal lis at Yorktown. 




CHAPTER XXXI. 

TIIE ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION — WASHINGTON'S 
ADMINISTRATION. 

Unsettled Condition of the Country — Failure of the Articlea of Confederation — DePire for 
Reform — Meeting of the Federal Convention at Philadelphia — The Constitution of the 
United States — Adoption of a Decimal Currency — The Northwest Territory — Washing- 
ton Elected President — His Journey to New York — Establishment of the New Govern- 
ment — The First Cabinet — Financial Measures — Removal of the Capital agreed upon 
— The Government at Philadelphia — The First Census — The Indians of the Northwest 
Conquered — Reelection of Washington — Division of Parties — The French Revolution 
— The United States Neutral — Citizen Genet — Eflbrts to Commit the United States to 
the French Alliance — Genet's Recall Demanded — The " Whiskey Insurrection" — Jay's 
Treaty with England — Opposition to it — Negotiations with Algiers — Political Disputes 
— Hostility to Washington — His Farewell Address — Its EfTect upon the Country — Elec- 
tion of John Adams to the Presidency — Admission of Vermont, Kentucky, and Ten- 
nessee — Retirement of Washington — Results of liis Administration. 

HE long war was over, and independence had been aoliieved ; but 
the condition of the country was such as to excite the gravest 
apprehension. The country' was exhausted by the sacrifices and 
burdens of the war, and its debts amounted to the enormous 
sum of one hundred and seventy millions of dollars, a sum 
vastly out of proportion to its resources. Two-thirds of these debts had 
been contracted by Congress ; the remainder by the States. The articles of 
confederation were found inadequate to the task of enforcing the authority 
of the general government, and the States treated the orders of Congress 
with neglect. Commerce was sadly deranged for the want of a uniform 
system. The States entered into competition with each other for the 
trade of foreign nations, and articles which were required to pay heavy 
duties in some of the States were admitted free of duty in others. Many 
of the States were unable to enforce the collection of taxes within their 
own limits. The British merchants, at the close of the war, flooded the 
American markets with their manufactures at reduced prices. The 
result was that the domestic mainifactures of the States were ruined ; the 
country was drained of its specie, and the merchants and peo])le of the 
Union were involved in heavy debts. A general poverty ensued in the 
Eastern States, which gave rise lo much discontent. In Massachusetts, 
570 




THE ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION. 571 

in December, 1786, a body of a thousand men, under Daniel Shays, 
assembled at Worcester and compelled the supreme court to adjourn, in 
order to prevent it from issuing writs for the collection of debts. The 
militia was called out, and " Shays* Rebellion " was put down ; but it 
was evident that the sympathies of the people were largely with the 
insurgents. These troubles brought home to the whole country the 
necessity of a more perfect system of government, and measures were 
begun for bringing about the changes needed. 

In September, 1 783, delegates from five of the States met at Annapolis 
to deliberate upon a plan for the improvement of commerce and the 
revenue. They recommended the assembling of a convention to revise 
the articles of confederation ; and, accordingly, delegates from all the 
States met for this purpose, at Philadelphia, in May, 1787. George 
Washington, who was one of the delegates from Virginia, was unani- 
mously chosen president of the convention. The sessions of this body 
lasted four months, and the convention, instead of revising the articles 
of confederation, adopted an entirely new constitution. Each article of 
this constitution was discussed with care and minuteness, and with great 
feeling. The sessions of the convention were held with closed doors; 
but its proceedings were so far from harmonious that there were several 
occasions when it seemed likely the convention would break up in con- 
fusion, and leave its work unfinished. At length, however, through the 
patriotism and forbearance of its members, the convention brought its 
work to a close, and presented the constitution to Congress. It was sub- 
mitted by that body to the several States for their approval. The State 
governments summoned conventions of their respective people, and sub- 
mitted the constitution to them for their acceptance or rejection. By the 
end of 1788 it was ratified by eleven States. North Carolina did not 
ratify it until November, 1789; and Rhode Island held aloof from the 
Union until May, 1790. The right of these States to reject the constitu- 
tion, and to continue their separate existence as independent States, was 
not questioned by any one. 

The new constitution was not entirely satisfactory to any party, and 
represented the sacrifices made by all to achieve the great end of a central 
government, strong enough to carry out the objects of the Union. It 
was a document of compromises, three of Avhich were of especial im- 
portance. The first was a concession to the smaller States, which had 
feared the loss of their independence ; they were placed on the same foot- 
ing as the larger States by being given an equal representation in the 
Senate. The second was a concession to the slave-holding States of the 
south, and guaranteed that in apportioning their representation in Con- 



572 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



gress three-fifths of the slaves were to be included with the white popu- 
lation. The third was a concession to Georgia and South Carolina, and 
granted them permission to continue the African slave-trade until 1808. 
The delegates from those States refused to sign the constitution except 
upon this condition. 

In the meantime Congress had taken a step of the highest importance 
in adopting the plan, presented by Mr. Jefferson, for a decimal currency. 
Until now the use of the English currency had been general in all the 
States. In August, 1786, our present system of dollars and cents was 
adopted by Congress, and a mint was established somewhat later. The 
government was so poor, however, that it could only coin a small quantity 
of copper cents. 

The sessions of Congress were held at New York. In the session of 
1787 a measure was adopted, which had the most important influence 




GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES. 



upon the subsequent history of the country. The treaty of Paris fixed 
the ]\Iississipi)i river as the Avestern boundary of the United States. 
This river consequently became the western limit of Virginia, Con- 
necticut, and ^lassachusetts. In 1784 Virginia ceded to the general 
government of the United States her claim to the vast region owned by 
her beyond the Ohio. Massachusetts and Connecticut soon followed her 
example, and New York also ceded her western territory to the govern- 
ment. In July, 1787, Congress organized this vast region as the terri- 
tory of the northwest. It was provided that slavery should never be 
permitted to exist in this territory, or in any of th^e States which miglit 
afterwards be formed out of it. This wise provision, which was the basis 
of the wonderful j)rospcrity of this great region, was due to the foresight 
of Thomas Jefferson. The northwest being seculed to freedom, emigra- 



WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 



573 



tlon soon set in, and it began its great career of prosperity which has 
since known no slackening. 

It was provided by the constitution that when it should have been 
ratified by two-thirds of the States, it sliould go into operation on the 4th of 
March, 1789. Eleven of the States having ratified the constitution, elec- 
tions were held for President and Vice-President of the United States, 
and for members of Congress. New York was named as the seat of the 
new government. The 4th of March, 1789, was ushered in with a 
public demonstration at New York ; but a sufficient number of members 
of Congress to form a quorum for the transaction of business did not 
arrive until the 30th of March. On the 6th of April the electoral votes 
were counted, and it was found that George Washington had been 
unanimously chosen first President of the United States, and John 
Adams Vice-Presi- "* 

dent. 

Charles Thomp- 
son, the oldest secre- 
tary of Congress, was 
sent to Mount Ver- 
non to notify Wash- 
ington of his election, 
and a messenger was 
despatched to Boston 
on a similar errand to 
Mr. Adams. Wash- 
ington promptly sig- 
nified his acceptance of the office, and, two days later, started for New 
York. It was his desire to travel as quietly and unostentatiously as pos- 
sible, but the people of the States through which he passed would not 
permit him to do so. His journey was a constant ovation. Crowds 
greeted him at every town with the most enthusiastic demonstrations of 
affection and confidence; triumphal arches were erected; his way was 
strewn with flowers by young girls ; and maidens and mothers greeted 
him with songs composed in his honor. In consequence of these demon- 
strations his progress was so much retarded that he did not reach New 
York until the latter part of April. 

On the 30th of April Washington appeared on the balcony of Federal 
Hall, New York, on the site of which the United States Treasury now 
stands, and took the oath of office in the presence of the Senate and 
House of Representatives, and a large crowd of citizens assembled in the 
streets below. He then repaired to the Senate chamber, and there deliv- 




WASHINGTON RECEIVING THE INTELLIGENCE OF HIS 
ELECTION. 



74 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ered an acKlrcss to both houses of Congress. The organization of the 
government being now complete, Congress proceeded to arrange the 
executive department by the creation of the departments of state, tlie 
treasury, and war. President Washington appointed Thomas Jelfer- 
son, secretary of state, Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the trcasur\', 
and General Henry Knox, secretary of war. John Jay was made chief 
justice of the United States, and Edmund Randolph, attorney- 
general. 

Tlie new government found itself face to face with many difficulties, 
the principal of which was the payment of the national debt. This debt 
was in the form of notes of the government, or promises to pay for value 
received. These notes had been issued by the States as well as by Con- 
gress during the revolution, and had been given in payment for services 

rendered the general and State gov- 
ernments, and for supplies. In Jan- 
uary, 1790, Alexander Hamilton pro- 
posed to pay all these debts in full, 
and that the general government 
should assume the war debts of the 
1 Crs^ "'\ -^ — 'rMi«Kfe&::5:^5= wi Statcs. TliIs plau mct with consldcr- 
W",, y^^^^i,,....^jmllllmKK^^^)A^ 3^1c opposition at first, but was at 

1^^ length adopted. It was also arranged 
that the revenue of the country should 
be divided as follows : As the control 
of commerce had passed into the hands 
of Congress the revenue derived from 
the duties levied upon imported mer- 
chandise was to be applied to the uses 
of the general government. The proceeds of the direct taxes upon real 
estate and other property, which could be levied only by the respective 
States, were to be used for the expenses of those States. 

It had been for some time considered desirable to remove the seat of 
the federal government to some point more central than New York, and 
which could be brought under the supreme control of Congress. In 
1790 it was resolved that the seat of government be fixed at Philadelphia 
for ten years, and at the end of that time be removed to a new city to be 
built on the banks of the Potomac. A federal district, ten miles square, 
was obtained by cession from Virginia and Maryland, and was placed 
under the sole control of the United States. The foundations of a new 
city, named "Washington, in honor of the " Father of his Country," were 
laid on the left bank of the Potomac, a short distance below the falls of 




PRESIDENT WASHINGTON. 



WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 575 

that river, and buildings for the accommodation of the general govern- 
ment were begun and pushed forward as rapi<lly as possible. 

The general government was removed to Philadelphia in 1791, and in 
December of that year the second Congress began its sessions in that city. 
The principal measure of this session was the establishment of the Bank 
of the United States, in accordance with the recommendations of Alex- 
ander Hamilton. The bank was chartered for twenty years, and its 
capital was ten millions of dollars, of which the government took two 
millions, and private individuals the remainder. The measure was 
carried in the face of considerable opposition in Congress, but was very 
beneficial to the government, as well as to the general business of the 
country. The notes of the bank were payable in gold and silver upon 
presentation at its counters. 

Commerce now began to show signs of a great revival from the stagna- 
tion and loss caused by the war. The duties levied upon foreign goods 
gave to domestic manufactures an opportunity to place themselves upon a 
firmer foundation. Very great improvements Avere made in the character 
of American manufactures. In New England the weaving of cotton and 
woollen goods'was begun, in a feeble way it is true, but the foundation 
was laid of that great industry which has since been a constant and grow- 
ing source of wealth to that section. 

In 1790, the first census of the United States was taken, and showed 
the population to be 3,929,827 souls. 

The Indians of the northwest had been very troublesome for some time. 
The British agents in that region incited them to hostility against the 
United States, and urged them to claim the Ohio as their southern and 
eastern boundary. They committed innumerable outrages along this river, 
and almost put a stop to the trade upon its waters by attacking and plunder- 
ing the flatboats of the emigrants and traders which were constantly de- 
scending the river. The general government resolved to put a stop to their 
outrages, and General Harmer was sent against them in 1790, but was de- 
feated with great loss. In 1791 General St. Clair, the governor of the north- 
west territory, was placed in command of an expedition against the savages. 
He set out from Fort Washington, now Cincinnati, about the middle of 
September, with a force of two thousand men, but near the head waters 
of the Wabash was surprised and defeated by an Indian force under Little 
Turtle, a famous chief of the Miamis. The wreck of his army fled to 
Fort Washington, and the frontier was once more defenceless. 

President Washington now placed General Anthony Wayne in com- 
mand of the forces destined to operate against the Indians. With his 
usual energy Wayne assembled his army at Fort Washington, and in the 



676 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



summer of 1794 marched into the Indian country, laid it waste, and 
defeated the Indian tribes in the battle of the Maumee on the 20th of 
August. In the summer of 1795, the Indians, cowed by their defeat, and 
alarmed by the withdrawal of the British from the frontier posts, met 
General Wayne at his camp on the Miami, and entered into a treaty with 
the United States by which they ceded all the eastern and southern part 
of Ohio to the whites, and withdrew farther westward. 

In the elections of 1792 Washington and Adams were chosen President 
and Vice-President of the United States for a second term of four years. 
The disputes which had been begun by the adoption of the constitution 
had been continued during the first term of Washington's presidency, and 
had given rise to two political parties — the Federalists, or those who favor 




BATTLE OF THE MAUMEE. 



a strong national government, and who supported the administration ; and 
the Anti-Federalists, who opposed the policy of the administration. Among 
the leaders of the Federalist party were Washington, Adams, Hamilton, 
and Jay ; among the Anti-Federalist leaders wer,e Jefferson, Madison, and 
Monroe. The differences between Jefferson and Hamilton increased with 
time, and soon assumed the character of a personal hostility, a circumstance 
which was productive of great trouble to the president, since it prevented 
his cabinet from acting harmoniously. As the quarrel deepened, the 
Anti-Federalist party repudiated that title, and took the name of Repub- 
lican, as it better expressed their principles. The political questions 
entered largely into the second election, and prevented Mr. Adams from 
receiving the unanimous vote which was given to Washington. 



WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 577 

Shortly after the commencement of Washington's first term of office, the 
French revolution broke out, and drew upon France the attention of the 
whole world. The events of this great struggle were watched with the 
deepest interest in America, for the nation cherished the warmest senti- 
ments of gratitude to France for her aid in the revolution. The Repub- 
lican party urgently favored an alliance with the French republic, but 
Washington and the greater part of his cabinet were resolved to maintain 
a strict neutrality as to all European quarrels. The excesses of the 
revolutionists shocked the public sentiment of America, and the events 
of the reign of terror cooled the zeal of many of the most ardent friends 
of the French republic. Still party feeling ran high upon the subject, 
and the disputes were yet very bitter when Mr. Edniond Charles Genet, 
or " Citizen Genet," as he was generally styled, arrived in the United 
States, in 1793, as minister from the French republic. He brought the 
news that France had declared war against Great Britain. He was well 
received by the Republicans, who were anxious that the United States 
should become the ally of France and thus engage in a new war witli 
Great Britain. Washington and his cabinet were unmoved by this 
clamor, and a proclamation was issued declaring the neutrality of the 
United States in the war between Great Britain and France, and warning 
the American people to refrain from the commission of acts inconsistent 
with this neutrality. The firmness of the president in resisting the 
demand for an alliance with France saved the country from innumerable 
losses, perhaps from the destruction of the work of the revolution. 

Genet, encouraged by the sympathy of the Republican party, was 
determined to embroil the United States with Great Britain to such an 
extent that they would be compelled to make common cause with France. 
He therefore began to fit out privateers from American ports against the 
commerce of England. He was warned by the government that he was 
transcending his privileges as the minister of a friendly power, but paid 
no attention to this rebuke. The Republican party now took a more 
active stand in favor of the French alliance, and its more ultra members 
assumed the name of Democrats, while others styled themselves Demo- 
cratic Republicans. The determination of President Washington not to 
interfere in the quarrels of Europe was vehemently assailed, and the news- 
papers of this party went so far as to denounce the president and his sup- 
porters as the enemies of France and the friends and secret supporters of 
their old oppressor, the king of England. 

Genet was greatly deceived by these clamors, which he mistook for the 
sentiment of tlie American people. He took a step further, and authorized 
the French consuls in the American ports to receive and sell vessels cap- 
37 



578 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tured by French cruisers from the English, with whom the United States 
were at peace. He also contemplated raising a force in Georgia and the 
Carolinas for the purpose of seizing Florida, and another in Kentucky for 
the conquest of Louisiana, both of which regions were then held by Spain, 
a power friendly to the United States. The patience of the president 
having been exhausted by Genet's insolent conduct, Washington requested 
the French government to recall him, which it did in 1794, much to the 
astonishment of citizen Genet. M. Fauchet was appointed in his place. 
Genet did not return home, but became a citizen of the United States. 

The impunity with which Genet had braved the federal government 
gave rise to fears that it was not strong enough to enforce its authority. 
Advantage was taken of this feeling in an unexpected quarter. The 
fertile region of western Pennsylvania, watered by the Monongahela and 
its tributaries, had been settled by a hardy population, chiefly of Scotch- 
Irish Presbyterians, who had with great labor and amid constant exposure 
to the attacks of the Indians, redeemed the land from the wilderness, and 
covered it with thriving farms and orchards. Grain and apples and 
peaches were their staple products ; the grain was distilled into whiskey, 
and the fruits were made into brandies. One of Hamilton's favorite 
measures for the raising of a revenue was the imposition of an excise or 
duty upon whiskey. This tax was generally unpopular throughout the 
country, but especially so in the four western counties of Pennsylvania. 
The settlers of this region organized themselves in secret societies for the 
purpose of resisting this tax, and at length, in 1792, rose in rebellion 
against the government, refused to pay the tax, and drove off the excise 
officers. The best men in this section wci'c engaged in the rebellion, and 
it was openly proposed to separate from Pennsylvania and form a new 
State. Nearly seven thousand armed men assembled, and declared their 
intention to resist the authority of the State and federal governments. 
Matters remained in this condition for about two years, and at length 
Washington, finding it necessary to employ force for the suppression of 
the revolt, sent a strong body of troops to compel the rebels to submit. 
Ui)on the appearance of the troops, the leaders of the movement fled, and 
the "Whiskey Insurrection" suddenly came to an end. This vigorous 
action of the federal government greatly added to its strength. 

The fidelity with which Washington sought to discharge his duty 
towards England, a.s a neutral, was but little appreciated by the govern- 
ment of that country, which conducted itself towards the United States 
in a manner that seemed likely to result in another war. By the treaty 
of Paris England had agreed to surrender the frontier posts held by her 
forces within the limits of the United States. These were still retained, 



WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION 579 

and were made by the British agents so many centres for stirring up the 
Indians to acts of hostility against the Americans. Orders were issued 
to the British naval officers to seize and detain all vessels laden with 
French goods, or with provisions for any of the French colonies. As the 
American ships were largely engaged in trade with France and her 
colonies, this order threatened the commerce of the States with ruin. 
The feeling of indignation against England, caused by these outrages, 
was increasing throughout the Union, and the country was rapidly drift- 
ing into a war with that kingdom. The interests of the United States 
demanded peace with all the world, as the country was yet too weak and 
unsettled to endure another war with safety. This necessity was recog- 
nized by Washington and his advisers, and the constant aim of the presi- 
dent was to avoid, as far as possible, all complications which might lead 
to war. The conduct of Great Britain could not be passed by, and if a 
settlement of the matter, consistent with the honor and interests of the 
republic could not be arranged, war was inevitable. 

Anxious to exhaust all peaceful means of settlement, President Wash- 
ington sent John Jay, the chief justice, to England to enter into negotia- 
tions with the British government for the settlement of all matters' in 
dispute between the two countries. Mr. Jay was eminently qualified for 
the task, both by his remarkable abilities and his great and honorable 
services to the country since the outbreak of the revolution. He was 
received in England with great respect, and in the course of a few 
months concluded a treaty, which was submitted to the Senate of the 
United States for ratification. By the terms of thi-s treaty Great Britain 
agreed to give up the western posts within two years, to grant to Ameri- 
can vessels the privilege of trading with the West Indies upon certain 
conditions, and to admit American ships free of restrictions to the ports 
of Great Britain and the English East Indian possessions. On the other 
hand provision was made by the United States for the collection of debts 
due British merchants by American citizens. 

This treaty did not please any party entirely, not even Mr. Jay him- 
self; but it was the best that could be obtained from Great Britain at the 
time, and as such was accepted by the administration, which threw all its 
influence in favor of its adoption. It met v/ith very great opposition in 
the Senate, and subjected the president to a great deal of adverse criticism 
throughout the country. After a fortnight's debate in secret session the 
Senate advised the ratification of the treaty. The acceptance of this 
treaty, imperfect and unsatisfactory as it was, secured peace to the United 
States for a number of years at this most critical period of its history. 
lu 1795 treaties were also negotiated with Spain, by which the bounda- 



680 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ries between the United States and Louisiana and Florida were definitely 
settled. The navigation of the Mississippi was made free to both parties, 
and the Americans were granted the privilege* of making New Orleans, 
for three years, a place of deposit for their trade. 

The commerce of the United States, which was increasing rapidly, was 
confined chiefly to the New England States. A lucrative trade with the 
countries of Europe bordering the Mediterranean had grown up, but was 
greatly interfered with by the Algerine pirates, who sallied out from their 
harbors on the African coast and captured many of the vessels engaged 
in this trade, and sold the crews into slavery. The European powers had 
purchased exemption from these outrages by paying an annual tribute to 
the Dey of Algiers. The United States for the present thought it best 
to follow the universal custom, and ransomed the captive American 
sailors by the payment of nearly a million of dollars. At the same 
time the more sensible policy of establishing a navy for the protection of 
American commerce was resolved upon, and in 1795 a bill was passed by 

Congress for the construction of 
six first-class frigates. This was 
the beginning of the United 
States navy. 

Mr. Jeifcrson had retired from 
the cabinet at the close of 1793, 
and after his withdrawal ]iarty 
quarrels ran higher than ever. 
The motives and conduct of the president were denounced with great bit- 
terness by his opponents, and he was subjected to considerable annoyance 
by these attacks. He continued, with firmness, the course he had marked 
out for himself, trusting to time and the good sense of his countrymen for 
his vindication. In September, 179G, he issued a farewell address to the 
people of the United States, in which he announced his purpose to retire 
from public life at the close of his second term, and delivered to his 
countivmen such counsels and admonitions as he deemed suited to their 
future guidance. It was the warning of a father to his children engaged 
in a difficult and all-important undertaking. It had a most happy effect. 
It brought up the memory of the great and unselfish services of Wash- 
ington, and enabled his countrymen to see liim in his true light. The 
gratitude of the nation, which had been long obscured by party passion, 
burst forth in a mighty stream, and from every quarter came evidences 
of the affection and veneration of the American |)eople for their great 
leader. Congress adopted a rei)ly to the farewell address, expressing 
the liighcst confidence in the wisdom and integrity of Washington, and 




COAT OF ARMS OF VEUMOXT. 



WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 



581 



during the winter of 1796-97 nearly all the State legislatures adopted 
similar resolutions. 

At the elections held in the fall of 1796 the Federalists put forward 
John Adams as their candidate, while the Republicans supported Thomas 
Jeiferson. The contest was very bitter, and resulted in the election of 
Mr. Adams. Mr. Jefferson, receiving the next highest number of votes, 
was declared Vice-President, in accordance with the law as it then stood. 

During the administration of President Washington three new States 
were admitted into the Union, making the whole number of States six- 




mount VERNON. 



teen. They were Vermont, which was admitted on the 4th of March, 
1791, making the first new State under the constitution; Kentucky, 
which was admitted in 1792; and Tennessee, admitted on the 1st of 
June, 1796. 

At the close of his term of office, Washington withdrew to his home 
at Mount Vernon, to enjoy the repose he had so well earned, and which 
was so grateful to him. His administration had been eminently success- 
ful. When he entered upon the duties of the presidency the government 
was new and untried, and its best friends doubted its ability to exist long ; 



582 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the finances were in confusion and the country was burdened with debt ; 
the disputes with Great Britain threatened to involve the country in a 
new war ; and the authority of the general government was uncertain 
and scarcely recognized. When he left office the state of aifairs was 
changed. The government had been severely tested and had been 
found equal to any demand upon it ; the finances had been placed upon 
a safe and healthy footing, and the debt of the country had been 
adjusted to the satisfaction of all parties concerned in it. The dis- 
putes with England had been arranged, and the country, no longer 
threatened w ith Avar, was free to devote its energies to its improvement. 
Industry and commerce were growing rapidly. The exports from the 
United States had risen from nineteen millions to over fifty-six millions 
of dollars, and the imports had increased in nearly the same proportion. 
The rule of non-interference in European quarrels, and of cultivating 
friendly relations with all the world, had become the settled policy of 
the republic, and its wisdom had been amply vindicated. The progress 
of the republic during the eight years of Washington's administration 
was indeed gratifying, and gave promise of a brilliant future. 




CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF JOHN ADAMS AND THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

Inauguration of John Adams — Aggressions of France upon the United States — The 
American Commissioners Insulted by tlie Frencli Government — The Alien and Sedition 
Laws — The United States Prepare for War with France — France Signifies lier Willing- 
ness to Treat — New Commissioners appointed — Settlement of the Dispute — Hostilities 
at Sea — Capture of the" Insurgente" and" Vengeance" — Death of Washington — Removal 
of the Capital to Washington City — The Second Census — Inauguration of Tliomas Jeffer- 
son — The President's Message — His First Measures — Admission of Ohio — Louisiana 
Purchased by the United States — War with the Barbary Powers — Burning of the " Phila- 
delphia" — Re-election of Mr. Jefferson — Aaron Burr Kills Alexander Hamilton in a Duel 
— Burr's Subsequent Career — Fulton's Steamboat — Outrages of England and France 
upon American Commerce — American Vessels Searched and American Seamen Im- 
pressed by England — Efforts to Settle these Questions — Afl!air of the "Chesapeake" and 
" Leopard " — Tiie Embargo — Results of this Measure — Losses of the Eastern Statjs — 
Election of James Madison to the Presidency — Repeal of the Embargo — Retirement of 
Mr. Jefferson. 

[N the 4th of March, 1797, John Adams was inaugurated President 
of the United States, and Thomas Jefferson took the oath of 
office as Vice-President. Mr. Adams was in the sixty-second 
year of his age, and in the full vigor of health and intellect. 
He made no changes in the cabinet left by President Washing- 
ton, and the policy of his administration corresponded throughout with 
that of his great predecessor. He came into office at a time when this 
policy was to be subjected to the severest test, and was to be triumph- 
antly vindicated by the trial. Mr. Adams began his official career with 
the declaration of his " determination to maintain peace and inviolate 
faith with all nations, and neutrality and impartiality with the belligerent 
powers of Europe." 

The relations of the United States with France had been of an un- 
friendly nature for some time. Jay's treaty had greatly offended the French 
government, and the insolent conduct of M. Adet, the French minister 
to the United States, had led to a suspension of diplomatic intercourse 
between the two republics. The French Directory now proceeded to 
manifest its disregard of the rights of America by ordering the seizure of 
all American vessels in its ports laden with English manufactured goods. 

583 




584 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

At the same time the American minister to France, Charles C. Pinckney, 
was treated with such studied insult that he demanded his passports and 
withdrew to Holland. Privateers were sent out from French ports, which 
capture<l American merchantmen and treated their crews as prisoners of 
war. France also exerted her influence with Spain and Holland to in- 
duce them to treat the United States with hostility because of the alleged 
partiality of Jay's treaty with Great Britain. All this while there was a 
considerable party in the United States which M'as anxious for the conclu- 
sion of an alliance with France, and which either could not, or would not, 
see the deliberate purpose of that country to treat with the American 
republic only as a dependent. 

In May, 1797, President Adams called a special session of Congress and 
laid before it a statement of the relations with France. The announcement 
of the insults received by the American minister at the hands of the 
Directory and the increased aggressions upon American commerce, aroused 

a feeling of deep indignation throughout the 
country, and drew upon the partisans of France 
in America a considerable amount of deserved 
odium. 

In the hope that a peaceful and honorable 
settlement might yet be had, John Marshall and 
Elbridge Gerry, the former a Federalist and tlie 
latter a Repuljlican, were a})pointcd special com- 
missioners, and were ordered to proceed to Paris 
- ^, and unite Avith ISIr. Pinckncy in the negotiation 
'^ of a treatv which should not conflict with those 
JOHN ADAMS cxlstiug Avitli othcr nations, and which should 

place beyon<l question the right of the United 
States to maintain their neutrality. Marshall and Gerry joined Pinckncy 
in Paris in October, 1798, and made their business known to the French 
minister of foreign affairs, the famous Talleyrand. He at first refused 
to receive the American envoys in an official capacity, and afterwards 
employed unknown agents to communicate with them, in order that he 
might be free to disavow any engagement entered into with them. It soon 
transpired that the object of these secret interviews was to extort money 
from the commissioners. They Avere given to understand that if they 
would pay Talleyrand a certain sum of money for the use of liimself 
and his friends, and would pledge tlie United States to make a loan to 
France, nefjotiations would be be<xun without delav. Tlie answer of the 
American commissioners was well expressed in the indignant words of 
Pinckncy : " Millions for defence, not one cent for tribute." Marshall 




ADMINISTRATIONS OF ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 585 

and Pinckney were ordered to quit France at once, but Mr. Gerry was 
invited to remain and negotiate a treaty. He was nevertheless unable 
to accomplish anything. The correspondence between the commissioners 
and Talleyrand's agents was published in the United States, and aroused 
such a storm of indignation that the French party disappeared. It never 
dared to make its appearance again. 

About tiiirty thousand French exiles were residing in the United States 
at this time, and it was believed by the government that some of these 
had acted as spies for the Directory. It was known that many had 
abused the hospitality extended to them by seeking to induce the people 
of the south and west to join them in an effort to wrest Louisiana and 
Florida from Spain, and by endeavoring to strengthen the opposition to 
the efforts of the government to discharge its duty of neutrality towards 
the European powers. In the spring of 1798, in order to remedy this 
trouble, Congress passed the measures known as the " alien and sedition 
acts," by the first of which the president was empowered to order out 
of the country " any foreigner whom he might believe to be dangerous 
to the peace and safety of the United States." By the sedition act it 
was made a crime with a very heavy penalty for any one to " write, utter, 
or publish" any "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" against 
" either House of the Congress of the United States or the president of 
the United States, with intent to defame, or to bring them, or either of 
them, into contempt and disrepute." These acts met with great opposition 
throughout the country, and the latter especially Avas regarded as an 
effort on the part of the government to destroy the freedom of the press. 
The alien act was not executed, but a large number of foreigners left 
the country soon after its passage. Several persons were prosecuted under 
the sedition act for their severe criticisms of the government, and the 
result was invariably to increase the ranks of the Republican party, which 
steadfastly opposed the laws as unconstitutional and violative of the free- 
dom of the people of the Union. 

In the summer of 1798 Mr. Marshall returned from France, and liis 
report confirmed the statements that had been made respecting the hostile 
intentions of the government of that country. The president submitted 
to Congress a statement of the dis])utes between the two republics, and 
Congress, recognizing the danger of war, began to prepare for it. It 
was resolved to create a navy, and the three frigates just completed were 
fitted for sea. The president was authorized to have built, or to purchase 
or hire twelve ships of war of twenty guns each. An army was ordered 
to be raised, and the prominent points on the coast were to be j^Iaced in 
a state of defence. Washington was made commander-in-chief of the 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 587 

army, with the rank of Lieutenaut-General. He accepted the position, 
and applied himself with energy to the task of preparing the country for 
defence. He gave a hearty support to the measures of the president, and 
used his great influence to secure for them a similar approval on the part 
of the people. In the winter of 1798-99 Congress appropriated a 
million of dollars to defray the expense of the military preparations, and 
authorized the construction of six ships of war of seventy-four guns each, 
and six sloops of war of eighteen guns each. 

The energy and enthusiasm with which the Americans prepared for 
war opened the eyes of Talleyrand. He had not supposed they would 
fight, and now that he found they would, he was not willing to add to the 
difficulties of France by engaging in a new war. He therefore signified 
in an informal manner to Mr. Van Murray, the United States minister 
in Holland, that the French government was willing to renew diplo- 
matic intercourse with the United States. Mr. Adams, upon being in- 
formed of this, resolved to make one more effort to secure a peaceful 
settlement of the quarrel. He sent Oliver Ellsworth, Chief Justice of 
the United States, William R. Davie, and William Van Murray, minister 
to Holland, as commissioners to treat with the French republic for a 
settlement of all differences between the two countries. In taking this 
step hfe greatly offended many of the leaders of his party, who insisted 
that overtures for peace should come from France. The most rational 
and probable solution of Mr, Adanus' course, in the absence of direct 
proof, says the Hon. A. H. Stephens, " is that he acted under the urgent 
private advice of Waslnngton. Be that as it may, it proved to be one of 
the wisest and most beneficent deeds of his life." The commissioners 
were ordered by the president not to enter France unless they were 
assured that they would be received in a " manner befitting the commission- 
ers of an independent nation." 

Upon reaching Paris the commissioners found that a great change had 
taken place in the affairs of France. A revolution had unseated the 
Directory, and Napoleon Bonaparte was at the head of the government 
as first consul. Commissioners were appointed to meet the American 
envoys, and negotiations were begun and carried forward with such suc- 
cess that on the 30th of November, 1800, a treaty of peace was signed 
between the United States and France. 

In the meantime, though war was not actually declared, hostilities had 
begun. More tlian three hundred merchant vessels were licensed to carry 
arms for their defence. On the 9th of February, 1799, the American 
frigate " Constellation " captured the French frigate " L' Insurgente," of 
about equal force, after a severe engagement of an hour and a quarter, 



588 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



inflicting upon her a severe loss in killed and wounded. Somewhat later 
the "Constellation" encountered the French frigate " La Vengeance," of 
superior force, and in an engagement of about five hours duration silenced 
her fire and inflicted upon her a loss of one hundred and fifty-six men in 
killed and wounded. The French vessel succeeded in making her escape. 
These successes were very gratifying to the Americans, as they showed 
what their navy could accomplish if given a fair trial. The news of the 
conclusion of peace put a stop to hostilities. The army was disbanded, 
but the navy was kept afloat, and the coast defences were maintained. 
Before the arrival of the news of the treaty the country was called 




THE SUSQUEHANNA ABOVE HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA. 

upon to mourn the loss of its most illustrious citizen, George Washington. 
He took cold while riding over his estate at Mount Vernon, and was 
seized with a violent sore throat, from the effects of which he died on the 
14th of December, 1799, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. He was 
buried in his family vault at Mount Vernon, where his ashes still lie. 
The highest honors were j)aid to his memory by Congress, and by the 
various State governments, and in all parts of the Union a universal 
mourning wns held for the Father of his Country. Not less sincere were 
the tributes paid in foreign lands to the memory of the illustrious dead. 
Upon the receipt of the sad news the flags of the Channel fleet of Great 



ADMimSTRATIOKS OF ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 



589 



Britain were placed at half-mast by order of the Admiral Lord Bridport. 
Napoleon, then first consul of France, caused the standards of the 
French army to be draped in mourning for ten days, and announced the 
news to the army in the orders of the day. The proudest tribute of all 
to the grandeur and purity of the character of Washington is the unceas- 
ing and even increasing love and veneration with which his memory is 
cherished by his countrymen. 

During the summer of the year 1800 the seat of the general govern- 
ment was removed from Philadelphia to the new federal city of Wash- 
ington, in the District of Columbia. On the 22d of November, the 
session of Congress was opened in the unfinished capitol at Washington. 

The elections for 
president and vice- 
president were held 
in the autumn of 1800. 
Mr. Adams was the 
Federalist candidate 
for the presidency, and 
Charles Cotesworth 
Pinckney the candi- 
date of that party for 
vice-president. The 
Republican or Demo- 
cratic party nominated 
Thomas Jefferson for 
the presidency, and 
Colonel Aaron Burr, 
of New York, for the 
vice-presidency. The 
alien and sedition laws 

had rendered the Federalist party so unpopular that the electors 
chosen at the polls failed to make a choice, and the election was thrown 
upon the House of Hepresentatives, according to the terms of the Consti- 
tution. On the 17th of February, 1801, after thirty-six ballots, the 
House elected Thomas Jefferson President, and Aaron Burr Vice-Presi- 
dent, of the United States, for a terra of four years from and after the 
4th of March, 1801. 

The second census of the United States, taken in 1800, showed the 
population of the country to be 5,319,762 souls. 

Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, was 
inaugurated at the new capitol, in the city of Washington, on the 4th of 




THOMAS JEFFERSOK. 



,fl>'""iiii!Jv'.V'„ 



,'iiir;lfl"i11l:iiiii 




690 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 591 

March, 1801. He was in his fifty-eighth year, and had long been regarded 
as one of the most ilhistrious men in America. He was the author of 
the Declaration of Independence, had represented the country as minister 
to France, had served in the cabinet of General Washington as secretary 
of state, and had filled the high office of vice-president during the 
administration of Mr. Adams. He was the founder of the Democratic 
party, and was regarded by it with an enthusiastic devotion which could 
see no flaw in his character. By the Federalists he was denounced with 
intense bitterness as a Jacobin, and an enemy of organized government. 
He was unquestionably a believer in the largest freedom possible to man, 
but he was too deeply versed in the lessons of statesmanship, and was too 
pure a patriot to entertain for a moment the levelling principles with 
which his enemies charged him. Under him the government of the 
republic suffered no diminution of strength, but his administration was 
a gain to the country. 

Mr. JeiFerson began his administration by seeking to undo as far as 
possible the evil effects of the sedition act of 1798. A number of per- 
sons were in prison in consequence of sentences under this act at the time 
of his inauguration. These were at once pardoned by the president and 
released from prison. 

At the meeting of the seventh Congress, in December, 1801, President 
Jefferson, in pursuance of an announcement made some time before, 
inaugurated the custom which has since prevailed of sending a Avritten 
message to each House of Congress, giving his views on public affairs and 
the situation of the country. Previous to this the president had always 
met the two houses upon their assembling, and had addressed them in per- 
son. A strong Democratic majority controlled this Congress, and gave a 
hearty support to the president. The obnoxious measures of the last 
administration, such as the internal taxes, the taxes on stills, distilled 
spirits, refined sugars, carriages, stamped paper, etc., were repealed. In 
accordance with a suggestion of the president the period of naturalization 
was reduced from fourteen to five years. Measures were also set on foot 
for the redemption of the public debt, and it "was provided that seven 
millions three hundred thousand dollars should be annually appropriated 
as a sinking fund for that purpose. Another act, of which the wisdom 
was not so apparent, was passed for the reduction of the army. 

During the interval which had ela])sed since the organization of the 
Territory of the Northwest, emigrants had been pouring into the southern 
and eastern part of it with great ra})idity. In one year twenty thousand 
new settlers Avere added to the population of the Territory of Ohio. The 
population had now become so large that the eastern part of the North- 



592 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

west Territory applied for admission into the Union as a separate State. 
Its request was granted, and on the 19th of February it was admitted 
into the Union as the State of Ohio, with a population of seventy 
thousand. 

In 1801 France by a secret treaty received back from Spain the Terri- 
tory of Louisiana. The French did not occupy the country, but left it 
under Spanish rule. In 1803 the Spanish governor of New Orleans, in 
violation of the treaty of 1795, closed the port of Xew Orleans to 
American commerce. This act aroused the most intense indignation 
among the people along the tributaries of the Mississippi, who were thus 
cut off from the sea, and it was with difficulty that they could be re- 
strained from an attempt to take possession of Louisiana. 

Mr. Jefferson had long been anxious to obtain for the United States 
the country bordering the lower Mississipj)!, as he was convinced that tiie 
power holding the mouth of that river must of necessity control the great 
valley through which it flows. Accordingly, Robert R. Livingston, the 

American minister at Paris, was 
ordered to open negotiations with 
the French government for the 
purchase of Louisiana. He found 
this an easier task than he had ex- 
pected, for Napoleon, who was on 
tlie eve of a great European war, 
COAT OF ARMS OF OHIO. ^^.jjg ji^^ch iu HCcd of moncy, and 

was by no means anxious to add to his troubles by being obliged to de- 
fend Louisiana. A bargain was soon concluded by which the United 
States became the i>osscssors of the whole region of Louisiana, from the 
Mississippi to the Pacific, embracing over a million of square miles. The 
United States paid to France the sum of ^«fl 5,000,000 for this immense 
region, and guaranteed to the then inhabitants all the rights of American 
citizens. " This accession of territory," said Napoleon, upon the comple- 
tion of the purchase, "strengthens forever the power of the United States, 
and I have just given to England a maritime rival that will sooner or 
later humble her pride." 

This purchase was of the highest importance. It about doubled the 
area of the United States, and placed the whole valley of the Mississippi 
within the territory of the republic. It was naturally a most popular 
act, and was approved by the entire nation, with the exception of a small 
number of the old Federalist leaders. Congress divided this great region 
into two territories — the Territory of Orleans, corresponding to the pres- 
ent State of Louisiana, and the District of I^uisiana, comprising the 
remainder of the purchase. 




ADMINISTRATIONS OF ADA3fS AND JEFFERSON. 



593 



Mention has been made of the payment of tribute to the dey of Algiers 
by the United States during the administration of Washington. Previous 
to 1801 the United States exj)ended nearly two million dollars in pur- 
cliasing exemption from capture for its merchant vessels in the Mediter- 
ranean. Tliese payments were made to all the Barbary powers, Tunis, 
Tripoli, Algiers, and Morocco. As the American republic lay at the 
Other side of the Atlantic, and its ships of war were not often seen in the 
Mediterranean, the African pirates did not trouble themselves to comply 
with their agreements, and continued their outrages upon American ships 
in spite of the tribute paid them. 

In 1801 the bey of Tripoli, dissatisfied with the tribute paid him, de- 




LAFAYETTE SQUARE, NEW ORLEANS. 

clared war against the United States, and a number of American war 
vessels were sent to the Mediterranean to protect the commerce of their 
country in that sea. In 1803 Commodore Preble was sent to the 
Mediterranean with a fleet. The frigate "Philadelphia" was stationed 
to blockade Tripoli, while Preble, with the remainder of the vessels, 
sought to punish the emperor of Morocco by an attack on Tangiers. 
^yhile thus engaged the " Philadeljjhia" ran ashore in chasing an 
Algcrine cruiser. In this helpless condition she was surrounded by 
Tripolitan gunboats and captured after a fight wliich lasted the entire 
day. Captain Bainbridge, her commander, and three hundred of her 
crew were made prisoners. The officers were held for ransom, but the 
seamen were reduced to slavery. On the 5th of February, 1804, Lieu- 
38 



594 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

tenant Stephen Decatur, with a picked crew of seventy-six men, entered 
the liarbor of Tripoli in a small schooner named the " Intrepid." Placing 
liis vessel alongside of the '' Philadelphia " by night, he boarded the 
frigate as she lay under the guns of the castle and the Tripolitan fleet, 
drove the Turkish crew into the sea, set fire to the frigate in every part, 
and retreated from the harbor without the loss of a man. During the 
year 1804 the American fleet repeatedly bombarded Tripoli and did con- 
siderable damage to it. The war went on until the summer of 1805, 
when the bey of Tripoli asked for peace, and a treaty was made by 
which the Tripolitan pirates surrendered their captives on payment of a 
ransom, and agreed to refrain from aggressions upon the commerce of the 
United States in future without payment of further tribute. For some 
years the American vessels were safe from the outrages of the Barbary 
pirates. 

In the fall of 1804 Mr. Jciferson was elected president for a second 
term, but this time Colonel Burr was dropped by his party, who nomi- 
nated and elected George Clinton, of New York, vice-president in his 
place. Burr had at last experienced the reward of his insincerity : both 
parties had come to distrust him. After his defeat for the vice-presi- 
dency he had been nominated by his party as their (Candidate for governor 
of New York. He was warmly opposed by Alexander Hamilton, who 
was mainly instrumental in bringing about his defeat. Burr never for- 
gave Hamilton for his course in this election, and took advantage of the 
first opportunity to challenge him to a duel. They met at Weehawkcn, 
on the banks of the Hudson opposite New York, on the 11th of July, 
1804. Hamilton, who had accepted the challenge in opposition to his 
better judgment, and who had expressed his intention not to fire at Burr, 
was mortally wounded, and died within twenty-four hours. In him per- 
ished one of the brightest intellects and most earnest patriots of the 
republic. His loss was regarded as second only to that of Washington, 
and the sad news of his death was received in all parts of the country 
with profound and unaffected sorrow. A feeling of deep and general in- 
dignation was aroused against Burr, who found it expedient to withdraw 
from New York and retire to Georgia until the excitement had subsided. 

The murder of Hamilton, for it was nothing else, closed Burr's politi- 
cal career. His remaining years were passed in restless intrigue. In 
1805 he went west, and there undertook the organization of a military 
movement of some sort, which from the secrecy with which it was con- 
ducted, was generally regarded as treasonable, and intended for his own 
aggrandizement. In 1806 he was arrested by the United States, and after 
a prolonged trial, durinfj which he defended himself with great ability, 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 595 

he was acquitted of the charge of treason. His subsequent career was 
obscure, and he died in 1836, friendless and alone. He was a man of 
great ability ; but he failed to put his great talents to an honest use. 

In the year 1807 a great change was made in the system of navigation 
by Robert Fulton, a native of Pennsylvania, who built and successfully 
navio-ated the first steamboat. He named it the " Clermont," and made 
the voyage from New York to Albany, a distance of about one hundred 
and fiky miles, in thirty-six hours. From this time steam navigation 
rapidly superseded the old system of sailing vessels in the waters of the 
United States, and exercised a powerful influence in the development of 
the wealth and prosperity of the country. 

Since the beginning of the century France and England had been at 
war with each other, and their quarrels had drawn the whole European 
world into the struo-srle. The administration of Mr. Jefferson had con- 
tinned the neutrality of its predecessors, but in a fit of mistaken economy 
had exhibited the greatest hostility to the navy, which had been reduced 
to the most inefficient state possible. The commerce of the Union had 
grown with remarkable rapidity, and the need of a navy for its protection 
was now greater than ever. The administration could not be brought to 
recognize this fact, however, and it regarded the navy as of no other use 
than to enforce the revenue laws in its home waters. 

The general character of the European war had thrown the commerce 
of the old world into the hands of the few nations which were not en- 
gaged in the struggle. The United States obtained the largest share of 
this trade, but were not left long to enjoy it in peace. The efforts of 
Great Britain and France to injure each other caused them to extend 
their attacks to neutral nations. The British government, by its " orders 
in council," declared all vessels engaged in conveying West India pro- 
duce from the United States to Europe legal prizes. This measure was 
intended to cripple France, and at the same time to injure the United 
States, which had become too successful a commercial rival to England. 
A number of American vessels were seized and condemned upon this pre- 
text. Great indignation was expressed throughout the United States, 
but the government did nothing to remedy the trouble. In May, 1806, 
Great Britain declared the European coast, from Brest to the mouth of 
the river Elbe, in a state of blockade, thus forbiddiftg neutral vessels to 
trade with any port within these prescribed limits, on pain of capture and 
confiscation. This high-handed measure was a direct blow to the United 
States. It was met on the part of France by an act equally unjustifiable. 
Napoleon issued his famous " Berlin decree," by which he declared the 
whole coast of Great Britain in a state of blockade, and forbade the intro- 



596 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

duction of English goods into France, and the admission into Frencli 
ports of any neutral vessel that should first touch at an English port. 
In answer to this decree Great J5ritain forbade all trade with France by 
neutral nations. Napoleon thereupon issued his '* Milan decree," confis- 
cating not only the vessels and cargoes that should violate the " Berlin 
decree,'' but also such as should submit to Ixi searched by the iMiglish. 
Thus the commerce of the world was placed at the mercy of these two 
nations. The United States were the chief sufferers by these arbitrary 
measures. Their ships were captured by both British and French cruisers, 
and their remonstrances produced no cessation of the outrages. It was 
not })ossible to do anything for the protection of the commerce of the 
country, as the mistaken policy of the administration had deprived it of 
an (Hicient navy. The whole Atlantic seaboard demanded a change in 
this lespect, and petitions poured in upon Congress asking for the con- 
struction of more vessels of war, and for protection from the aggressions 
of the Euroj)ean powers. The only result of these petitions 'was a recom- 
mendation from the president to Congress to build more gunboats. It 
was not possible to go to war with both England and France, and the 
American government was left to make a choice as to which power it 
would undertake to settle the question with. The popular feeling was 
stronger against England, which, being the most active power at sea, was 
the principal aggressor, and the events to be related finally turned the 
scale ajjainst En<2:land. 

The British government maintained the doctrine that no subject could 
expatriate himself, or become a citizen of another country. This was 
the o]>posite of the view held by the United States, which wek^omed 
emigrants from other countries, bestowed upon them tlie rights of citizen- 
ship, and in their new character of adopted citizens protected them. The 
commanders of the British men-of-w-ar were accustomed to stop American 
Vessels on the high seas and search them for deserters. Under this head 
they included all persons born within the dominions of Great Britain, 
whether naturalized American citizens or not. When found on American 
vessels, these persons were removed by force and compelled to serve on 
board English ships of war. The British officers did not confine these 
im])ressments to "deserters," but seized and forced into their service 
great numbers of native-born Americans, who were thus torn from their 
homes and consigned to a slavery which was bitter and cruel to them. 

The government of the United States addressed urgent remonstrances 
to that of Great Britain against these outrages, and finally, in the spring 
of 1806, sent William Pinckney as joint commissioner with James Mon- 
roe, then minister to England, for the purpose of negotiating a treaty 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 



597 



which should put a stop to the acts complained of. The commissioners 
appointed by Great Britain expressed the desire of their country not to 
impress American seamen, and their willingness to redress as promptly as 
possible any mistake of the kind. They declined to relinquish the right 
to search for deserters, as it would be ruinous to the English navy. The 
truth is Great Britain treated her seamen with such cruelty that they 
would have deserted by the thousand had they been assured of protection 
from arrest. The British commissioners declared that while their country 
would not relinquish the right of search and impressment, strict orders 
would be issued to their naval commanders to use the right with caution 




A NEW JERSEY FRUIT FARM. 



and moderation. The British government itself was sincerely desirous 
of conciliating the United States, but its naval commanders, tempted by 
the weakness of the American navy, paid no attention to its orders and 
conducted themselves with haughty insolence towards American vessels, 
seizing and searching them, and forcing men from their decks with the 
same activity as before, and rarely missing an occasion to insult the flag 
of the republic. Meanwhile the commissioners concluded a treaty for 
ten years between the United States and Great Britain. It was on the 
whole more advantageous than Jay's treaty, but the president was not 



598 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

satisfied with it, and assumed the responsibility of rejecting it, in the 
spring of 1807, without submitting it to the Senate. 

A British naval commander now ventured upon an act which threw 
the relations between the two countries into a more hopeless state than 
ever. The United States frigate " Chesapeake," 38, under the command 
of Commodore Barron, was about to sail for a European station. Strict 
orders were issued to her officers not to enlist any British subject, know- 
ing him to be such ; but it was said that four of her crew were deserters 
from the British frigate " Melampus." Several British war vessels were 
lying in the Chesapeake bay, and one of these, the " Leopard," a fifty- 
gun frigate, put to sea a few hours before the " Chesapeake " sailed. The 
latter vessel sailed before she was fully ready for sea, and the work of 
getting the ship in order was still in progress, when she was hailed off the 
capes by the " Leopard," under the pretence of sending despatches to 
Europe. A lieutenant of the British frigate came on board and de- 
manded the surrender of the four men we have mentioned. Commodore 
Barron refused the demand on the ground that there were no such men 
on board. The lieutenant then returned to his ship, and the "Leopard" 
opened fire upon the " Chesapeake " and killed three of her men and 
wounded eighteen others. The " Chesapeake " was utterly unprepared 
for resistance, and Barron struck his colors after a single gun had been 
fired. The four men were taken from the " Chesapeake," the " Leopard " 
sailed for Halifax, and the American frigate returned to Norfolk. 

The news of this outrage excited the profoundest indignation through- 
out the country. On the 2d of July, 1807, the president issued a proc- 
lamation ordering all British vessels of war to depart from American 
waters, and the i)eople were warned against holding any intercourse with 
them. A special session of Congress M'as called, and the American 
minister at London was ordered to demand satisfaction for the outrage. 
The British government had received information of tlic affair before the 
arrival of the American demand. The action of the commander of the 
" Leopard " was disavowed, and a sjiccial messenger was sent to the 
United States to arrange the matter. Great Britain disclaimed the right 
to search vessels of Avar, and the excitement was quieted for a time. 

In December, 1806, as the outrages upon American commerce were 
continued. Congress, at the recomincndation of the president, passed the 
'' Embariro Act," by which all merchant vessels of the United States 
were prevented from leaving the ports of this country. This measure 
entirely put an end to the intercourse between the United States and the 
European nations. It was hoped by tlie president and the friends of the 
measure that it would compel Great Britain and France, by the loss of 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF ADA3IS AND JEFFERSON. 



599 



our trade, to put a stop to their arbitrary measures. Its only effects 
were to cause very heavy loss to tlie mercantile interests of this country, 
and to produce a general discontent throughout the Eastern and Middle 
States. Thousands of persons were thrown out of employment by the 
enforced idleness of the ships, and many of these turned their attention 
to manufacturing pursuits, which received a decided impetus; so that 
some good grew out of the embargo, after all. 

In the election of 1808 Mr. Jefferson, following the example of Wash- 
infrton, declined to be a candidate for a third term, and tiie Democratic 
or administration party supported James Madison for the presidency, 
and George Clinton for the vice-presidency. They were elected by large 
majorities ; but the effect of the embargo was seen in the casting of the 
electoral votes of the five New England States against the administration. 

The disaffection of the New England States induced Mr. Jefferson, just 
before the expiration of his term of office, to recommend to Congress the 
repeal of the embargo act. His opinion was unchanged as to the pro- 
priety of the embargo, but he recommended its repeal as a measure of 
peace and conciliation. The law was re- 
pealed on the 1st of March, 1809, and in 
the same month Congress passed an act pro- 
hibiting trade with France and England. 

At the close of his term of office Mr. 
Jefferson withdrew from public life, and 
retired to his home at Monticello, in Vir- 
ginia. ' The wisdom and success of the 
general policy of his administration had 
far outweighed his mistakes, and he retired 
from office with undiminished popularity, 
and with the respect and confidence of the 
nation. Indeed his popularity was greater at 
the close of his administration than at the 
beginning — a rare and gratifying reward to 
a public servant. His great services in the 
revolution, his draft of the Declaration of 

Independence, his acquisition of Louisiana, and the purity and grandeur 
of his character, placed him, in the public estimation, next to Washington. 




AAKON BURK. 




CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADISON — THE SECOND WAR 
WITH ENGLAND. 

Inauguration of Mr. Madison — Negotiations with Mr. Erskine — Their Failure — Seizure of 
American Vessels in France — Sufferings of American Ship-Owners — Great Britain Sta- 
tions her Ships of War off" American Ports — Affair of tlie " President" and " Little Belt" 
— Trouble with tlie Nortliwcstern Indians — Tecnniseh — Battle of Tippecanoe — Meeting 
of the Twelfth Congress — Measures for Defence — Admission of Louisiana into the L^nion 
— Death of George Clinton — The British Ultimatum — War Declared against Great 
Britain — Opposition to the War — Tlie British Ofler of Settlement Rejected — The War 
for " Free Trade and the Sailors' Rights" — Mr. Madison Re-elected — Campaign of 1812 
— Preparations for the Invasion of Canada — General Hull Surrenders Detroit to the 
British — Loss of the Northwestern Frontier — Failure of the Attack on Queenstown — 
Exploits of the Navy — Capture of the " Guerriere " by the " Constitution " — The Priva- 
teers — Russia offers to Mediate between the United States and England — Financial 
Affairs — Harrison's Campaign — Massacre at the River Raisin — Defence of Forts Meigs 
and Stephenson — Perry's Victory on Lake Erie — Battle of the Thames — Death of 
Tecumseli — Recovery of the Northwest — C;ipture of York — British Attack on Sackett's 
IIarl)or Rt'pulsei! — Removal of General Dearborn — Failure of the Campaign on the 
Lower Lakes— Tiie Creek War — lackson's Victories — Naval AH'airs — Tlie British Out- 
rages in Chesapeake Bay — Negotiations for Peace — Capture of Fort Erie — Battles of 
Chippewa and Lundy's Lane — Siege of Fort Erie — Successes of the Americans — Advance 
of Prevost — Battle of Plattsburgh — Macdonough's Victory on Lake Cliamplain — Battle 
of Biadensburg — Capture of Washington — Destruction of the Public Buildings by the 
British — Attack on Baltimore — Death of General Ross — "The Star-Spangled Banner" 
— Tlie British Attack on the New England Coast — Opposition of New England to the 
War — Tlie Hartford Convention — Tlie British in Florida — General Jackson expels 
them — Jackson at New Orleans — Arrival of the British Expedition off the Coast — Vig- 
orous Measures of Jackson — Battle of New Orleans — Defeat of the British — Naval 
Affairs— The Treaty of Peace— The Barbary Powers Humbled— The Tariff— The Bank 
of the United States — Admis.sion of Indiana — James Monroe elected President. 

) 

^AMES MADISON, the foin-th president of the United States, 

was inaugurated at Washington on the 4tii of March, 1809. 

He was in the fifty-eighth year of his age, and had long been 
^ one of the most prominent men in the Union, He had borne a 

distinguished part in the convention of 1787, and was the 
autlior of the Virginia resolutions of 1786, which brought about the 
assembling of this convention. He had entered the convention as one 
of the most prominent leaders of the national party, which favored the 

COO 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADISON. 



601 



consolidation of the States into one distinct and supreme nation, and had 
acted with Randolph, Hamilton, Wilson, Morris, and King, in seeking 
to bring about such a result. When it was found impossible to carry out 
this plan Mr. Madison gave his cordial support to the system which was 
finally adopted by the convention ; and while the constitution was under 
discussion by the States, he united with Hamilton and Jay in earnestly 
recommending the adoption of the constitution by the States, in a series 
of able articles, to which the general title of the " Federalist" Avas given. 
After the organization of the government Mr. INIadison was a member of 
the House of Representatives, and was regarded as one of the leaders of 
the Federalist party, and gave to Hamilton his cordial support in the 
finance measures of that minister. Towards the close of Washington's 
administration, however, Mr. Madison's political views underwent a great 
change. He was a near neighbor and warm friend of Mr. Jefferson, and 
was greatly influenced by the opinions and the 
strong personal character of that great states- 
man. As the political controversies of the 
time deepened, he became more and more in- 
clined towards the Republican or " Strict Con- 
struction" party, and in Mr. Adams' admin- 
istration took his position as one of the lead- 
ers of that party. At the time of his election 
to the presidency, INIr. Jefferson having with- 
drawn from public life, ]Mr. Madison was the 
recognized leader of the Democratic party, as 
the Republican party had come to be called. In 
1799 his famous report upon the Virginia 
resolutions of 1798 stamped him as one of the 

first statesmen in America ; and this report has always been regarded l)y 
succeeding generations as the most masterly exposition of the true prin- 
ciples of the constitution ever penned. During the whole of Mr. Jeffer- 
son's administration Mr. INIadison served as secretary of state, and not 
only added to his great fame by his eminent services in that capacity, but 
prepared himself for the difficult duties of the presidency. 

Mr. Madison had opposed the embargo, while sustaining the general 
foreign policy of Mr. Jefferson, but was in favor of tlie non-intercourse 
act, which forbade the country to trade with England and France. This 
act contained a clause, which provided that it should cease to apply to 
either or both of them as soon as they should repeal their " decrees," or 
"orders in council," affecting the commerce of the United States. 

Mr. Erskiue, the British minister to the United States, a man of noble 




JAMES MADISON. 




602 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADISON. 



603 



and generous character, was anxious that the differences between the two 
countries should be settled amicably, and he entered heartily into negotia- 
tions with the American government for this purpose. In accordance with 
the instructions he had received from England, he believed himself author- 
ized to inform the American government that the " orders in council " of 
Great Britain would be revoked by that government, as far as they applied 
to the commerce of the United States, and to offer " a suitable provision for 
the widows and orphans of those who were killed on board the ' Chesa- 
peake.'" Upon these assurances the president, on the 19th of April, 
1810, issued a proclamation suspending the non-intercourse act, as to 




SUPERIOR STREET, CLEVELAND, OHIO. 

England, after the 10th of June following. The news was received with 
joy all over the country, and in the course of a few weeks over one 
thousand vessels sailed from the United States, laden with American 
products, for foreign ports. They had hardly gotten to sea when the 
president was informed by the British government that Mr. Erskine had 
exceeded his powers in promising the withdrawal of the "orders in 
council." The president immediately issued a second proclamation, with- 
drawing his first, and matters resumed their old footing. Mr. Erskine 
was recalled, and a Mr. Jackson was appointed in his place. The failure 
of the negotiation with Erskine had greatly mortified not only the presi- 
dent and his cabinet, but the whole nation, and Mr. Jackson was coldly 



604 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

received. That gentleman adopted a tone and style in his correspondence 
with the secretary of state, which were so offensive that the president 
refused to hold communication with him, and demanded his recall. All 
diplomatic intercourse between the two countries thus came to an end. 

The outrages upon American commerce continued. Danish pri- 
vateers almost drove the American merchantmen from the Baltic. 
American ship-owners asked permission to arm their vessels for their 
own defence, as the government had not a navy sufficient to protect them ; 
but their petition was refused by Congress on the ground that such a 
Btate of affairs would be equivalent to war. The sentiment of the people 
of the country was rapidly settling in favor of war, and they could see 
little difference between the existing state of affairs and open hostilities. 
France was equally guilty with Great Britain. In the spring of 1810 
Napoleon issued a decree by which any American vessel entering any 
port of France, or of any country under French control, was made liable 
to seizure and confiscation. The decree was held back for six weeks 
after its date, with the deliberate design of involving as many American 
ships as possible in the ruin intended for them. The first intimation 
given to the United States of its existence was the seizure of one hun- 
dred and thirty-two American ships in the French ports. They were 
shortly afterwards sold with their cargoes, and added the sura of eight 
millions of dollars to the French treasury. The government of the 
United States remonstrated against this high-handed outrage ; but to no 
purpose, until Napoleon's want of money induced him to adopt a more 
honest course. 

About the middle of the year 1810 the American minister at Paris 
was informed that the Berlin and Milan decrees were revoked, and 
would cease to have effect after the 1st of November of that year. In 
accordance with this information the president, on the 1st of November, 
1810, issued a proclamation suspending the non-intercourse act with 
respect to France, and announcing that the provisions of the act would 
be continued with respect to Great Britain unless her "orders in council" 
should be revoked within three months from that date. The president 
also called the attention of the British government to the repeal of the 
French decrees, and as the " orders in council " were based upon these 
decrees, urged their repeal. Great Britain replied that the evidence of 
the revocation of the Berlin and iSIilan decrees was insufficient, and that 
the non-intercourse acts of Congress and the president's proclamation 
were partial and unjust. This answer was regarded in the United States 
as evidence of Great Britain's deliberate intention to continue her out- 
rages upon this country, and very greatly increaijed the popular desire for 



THE AmiimSTBATlON OF JAMES MADISON. 605 

war. England persisted in her determination to enforce her " orders in 
council," and even went to the inexcusable length of stationing her war 
vessels off the princijjal harbors of the United States for the purpose of 
intercepting our merchantmen. 

While matters were in this unsettled condition the American frigate 
"President," on the evening of the 16th of May, 1811, encountered a 
strange vessel off the mouth of the Delaware. As the dusk of the evening 
was too deep for Commodore Rodgers to distinguish the stranger's nation- 
ality, he hailed her, and was insolently answered by a gun from her. He re- 
plied with a broadside, and after an action of twenty minutes the stranger 
was disabled. Rodgers then hailed again, and was answered that the dis- 
abled vessel was the British sloop of war " Little Belt." She was greatly 
damaged, and had thirty-two of her crew killed and wounded. The 
" President ", was scarcely injured, and had but one man slightly wounded. 
A different statement of the affair was rendered to his government by each 
of the commanding officers, and was accepted by each government. In this 
conflict of testimony, the matter was suffered to pass by. The news of 
the prompt chastisement of the insolence of the British commander was 
received with delight in the United States, and the affair was generally 
regarded as, in some measure, an atonement for the disgrace of the surren- 
der of the " Chesapeake " to the " Leopard." 

The Indians of the northwest were becoming very troublesome, and 
their aggressions were attributed to the instigation of the British in 
Canada, Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief of unusual abilities, attempted to 
unite the Indians of the continent in a grand effort against the Americans, 
and for this purpose passed from tribe to tribe, from the great lakes to 
the Gulf of Mexico, and urged them to take up the hatchet. He was 
assisted by his twin brother Elskwatawa, generally called " the Prophet," 
who appealed to the superstitious fears of the savages by his jugglery. 

The federal government determined to strike a blow at the savages 
before their plans for union could be brought to a successful issue. In 
the autumn of 1811, Major-General William Henry Harrison, then 
governor of Indiana Territory, was sent to operate against the tribes on 
the Wabash. He took with him a body of Kentucky and Indiana 
militia, and one regiment of regular troops. On the 6th of Novcnnher 
he arrived at the Ruction of the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers near the 
town of the Prophet, the brother of Tecumseh. The Prophet sent several 
of the principal Indian chiefs to meet Harrison with offers of submission. 
They informed him that the Prophet would come into camp the next day, 
and make a treaty with iiim. Harrison suspected that the purpose of the 
Indians was simply to gain time, and that they would probably seek to 



G06 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



surprise him during the night, and accordingly caused his men to bivouac 
on tlieir arms that night. His precautions were well taken. About 
four o'clock on the morning of November 7th the savages made a furious 
attack on the American camp. They were promptly received, and after 
a severe conflict of several hours were put to flight. Tecumseh was not 
present in this engagement. General Harrison followed up his victor}' 
by destroying the Prophet's town, and building some forts for the pro- 
tection of the country. The battle of Tippecanoe quieted the Indians of 
the northwest for a while, but greatly increased the desire of the people 
of that region for war with England. 

In view of the threatening condition of affairs the president by his 





OSWEGO, N. y., IN 1875. 

proclamation convened the twelfth Congress in session a month earlier 
than usual, and that body met on the 4th of November, 1811. It was 
remarkable, as was also its successor, the thirteenth Congress, for the 
number of its members who afterwards took their places among the great 
men of the republic. The public men of the revolutionary period were 
dropping out of political life, and new men, with new ideas, were taking 
their places in the councils of the nation. Among the new members of 
Congress were Henry Clay, a native of Virginia, but a representative from 
Kentucky, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, John Randolph of Vir- 
ginia, Felix Grundy of Tennessee, Josiah Quincy of Massachusetts, and 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADISON. GOT 

Langdon Cheeves and William Lowndes of South Carolina. There was 
a large administration majority in both Houses, and the prevailing senti- 
ment of Congress was in favor of war with England. In this respect 
Congress fairly reflected the feeling of the country. 

Under the influence of this feeling, Congress during this session voted 
to increase the regular army to thirty-five thousand men, and authorized 
the president to accept the services of fifty thousand volunteers, and to 
call out the militia whenever occasion might require. The vessels of the 
navy were ordered to be fitted for sea, and new ships were to be con- 
structed. There was need for these measures, as the army at the time 
consisted of but three thousand men, and the navy of less than twenty 
frigates and sloops of war in commission, and about one hundred and fifty 
gunboats for harbor defence. The third census, taken in 1810, showed 
the population of the country to be 7,239,903. 

During this winter the government detected and laid before Congress 
an effort of Great Britain to produce disaffection in the New England 
States, with a view to secure their 
withdrawal from the Union. The »^ iJfcdlIwr~T^J^^^^^xrjM 

closed by the president's message ^ 
presents to the mind of the committee 
conclusive evidence that the British government, at a period of peace, and 
during the most friendly professions, have been deliberately and perfidi- 
ously pursuing measures to divide these States, and* to involve our citizens 
in all the guilt of treason and the horrors of civil war." 

Amid these troubles the State of Louisiana was admitted into tlie Union 
on the 8th of April, 1812. Shortly afterwards that portion of the 
Louisiana purchase lying outside of the limits of the State of Louisiana 
was organized into the Territory of Missouri. 

On the 20th of April, 1805, George Clinton, the vice-president of the 
United States, died at Washington, at the age of seventy-three. His 
place was filled by William H. Crawford, of Georgia, the president pro 
tempore of the Senate. 

On the 30th of May, 1812, the British minister at Washington deliv- 
ered to the government of the United States the final reply of his gov- 
ernment to the demands of this country in the questions at issue between 
them. This ultimatum was submitted to Congress by the president on 
the 1st of June, accompanied by a message in which he recapitulated the 



COAT OF AKMS OF LOUISIANA. 




CASON of the LODOUE AN1> GREENE Rn'EKS, W^'OMIXG TEKKITORY. 



COS 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 609 

wrongs inflicted by Great Britain upon this country, her violations of the 
rights of neutrals, her impressment of American seamen, her seizures of 
American ships, and her refusal to enter into any equitable arrangement 
for the settlement of these questions. The determination of Great Britain 
to drive American commerce from the seas was evident, and the question 
was submitted to Congress whether the United States should continue to 
submit to these outrages, or should resort to war to protect their rights. 
After a debate of several days, an act declaring war against Great Britain 
was passed by Congress, and was approved by the president on the 18th 
of June, 1812. On the 19th the president issued a proclamation declar- 
ing that war existed between the United States and Great Britain and her 
dependencies. Congress authorized the president to enlist twenty-five 
thousand men for the regular army, to raise a force of fifty thousand 
volunteers, and to call out one hundred thousand militia for garrison 
duty. General Henry Dearborn, of Massachusetts, was appointed to the 
chief command of the army. 

The war measures of Congress were not passed without considerable 
opposition. A large party, composed of some of the ablest and best men 
in that body, was opposed to the war, and resented the effort to go to war 
with England alone. They claimed that France had given as g6od cause 
for war, but that nothing was said of punishing her. This was true, but 
this party lost sight of the fact that the United States could not go to 
war with both powers, and were compelled to direct their efforts against 
the principal offender, which was clearly England. The war was re- 
garded as an administration measure, and though it was sustained by a 
large majority of the American people, there was still a strong and 
respectable party, especially in the New England States, which opposed 
it, and which claimed that all peaceful means of settlement had not yet 
been exhausted. John Randolph, of Virginia, opposed the declaration 
of war in a speech in the House of Representatives remarkable for its 
boldness and vigor, and declared that he had no hesitation in saying that 
he should prefer a contest with France to one with England. 

Soon after the declaration of war England made an effort to settle the 
controversy with the United States by negotiation. In September, 1812, 
Admiral Warren, commanding the British fleet at Halifax, addressed a 
letter to Mr. Monroe, the secretary of state, informing him that he was 
authorized by his government to enter into negotiations for a cessation of 
hostilities upon the basis of a revocation of the " orders in council." Mr. 
Monroe replied that the president was willing to enter into an armistice 
provided Admiral Warren had power and was willing to include in the 
negotiations measures for the discontinuance of the practices of seizing 
39 



610 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and searching American vessels and impressing American sailors from 
their decks, as experience had shown that no peace between the two 
countries could be lasting which did not include a settlement of these 
questions. As Admiral Warren had no authority to enter into these 
questions the president declined to proceed further, and the effort at 
negotiation came to an end. It has been held by many that the rejection 
by the president of the British overture was a grave error. John Ran- 
dolph thought that all the questions at issue, save the right of a British 
subject to expatriate himself and receive American jjrotcction, could be 
settled by negotiation. That point he did not believe England would 
ever concede. His opinion was to some extent vindicated by the uncon- 
ditional revocation of the French decrees, and the immediate repeal of 
the British " orders in council " upon the receipt of the news of this 
revocation. These measures were repealed "within a month after the 
declaration of war by the United States. The only cause of the war 
remaining unsettled was the impressment question. The war thus became 
a struggle for the personal freedom of American sailors ; and in a better 
cause no nation ever drew the sword. 

The weakness of the American navy made it impossible for this coun- 
try to atfrempt any distant enterprise against Great Britain, and it was 
not believed by even the most enthusiastic Americans that we could con- 
tend with her upon terms of equality at sea. The only means by 
which she could be crippled by this country was by the invasion and 
conquest of Canada, and to this end the efforts of the United States were 
directed during the war. It was also believed that the commerce of 
England could be seriously injured by the efforts of American privateers, 
and from the commencement of hostilities great activity was displayed in 
getting vessels of this class to sea. 

In the autumn of 1812 ]\Ir. Madison was reelected to the presidency 
by a large majority. Elbridge Gerry, of Connecticut, was chosen vice- 
president. Mr. ISIadison entered upon his second term on the 4th of 
March, 1813, some months after the war had begun. 

At the outset of the war the American forces were stationed along the 
Canadian frontier as follows : General Dearborn, the commander-in-chief, 
held the right, or eastern part of the line; the centre was commanded by 
General Stephen Van Rensselaer; and the left was held by General 
William Hull, then governor of Michigan Territory. The forces 
uwder these commanders were to cooperate with each other in their move- 
ments, and were to converge upon Montreal as the objective point of the 
campaign. 

Early ia July General Hidl, who had seen service in the war of the 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



611 



revolution, collected a force of about two thousand men at Detroit. His 
position was very much exposed, Detroit being at that time separated 
from the other settlements by about two hundred miles of unbroken 
forest. He urged upon the government to increase his force to three 
thousand men, and to secure the command of Lake Erie before the. 
British should obtain possession of it. His requests could not be com- 
plied with, and he was obliged to depend upon the force at Detroit* 

Immediately upon the declaration of war the British commanders in 
Canada displayed great activity, seizing the most important points along 
the frontier. In less than a month Fort Mackinaw and other points 
were in their possession, and Hull's position at Detroit was surrounded 




WOODWARD AVENUE, DETROIT, MICHIGAN. 

and his communications with the States cut off. Hull thereupon fortified 
his position, and endeavored, but without success, to open communication 
with the country in his rear. In the meantime a strong British force 
assembled at Fort Maiden, in Canada, opposite Detroit, under the com- 
mand of General Brock, the governor of Upper Canada ; and the British 
agents set to work to arouse the Indians of the northwest against the 
Americans. In these efforts they were successful. Brock erected bat- 
teries on the Canadian side of the river, in a position to command Detroit, 
and demanded of Hull the surrender of that place. The demand being 
refused, Brock crossed liis forces to the American shore, about three miles 



612 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

below the position occupied by General Hull, on the 16th ot August, and 
advanced to attack him. As the British army drew near the Araericau 
lines they were astounded to see a white flag flying from them. An offi- 
cer rode up to inquire the cause. The flag was the signal for a parley. 
Negotiations were begun, and later in the day Detroit, with its garrison 
and stores, and the whole of Michigan Territory, was surrendered to the 
British by General Hull. The American troops were overcome with 
astonishment and mortification at tiiis shameful surrender ; for the force 
of the enemy, to whom they were betrayed by their commander, consisted 
of but seven hundred British and Canadians, and six hundred Indians. 
By the surrender of Detroit the whole northwestern frontier was exposed 
to the British and their Indian allies. Great Britain, unmindful of the 
shame she had incurred by her employment of the savages during the 
revolution, did not hesitate once more to devote the American frontier 
to the horrors of a savage war. The west was greatly alarmed, and ten 
thousand volunteers oHbred their services to the government for the 
defence of the frontier. They were accepted, and were placed under the 
command of General Harrison, who was appointed to succeed Hull. 

Two years later, after being exchanged. General Hull was brought to 
trial by a court-martial for his surrender of Detroit and his army. He 
was found guilty of cowardice and neglect of duty, and was sentenced to 
be shot. He was pardoned by the president in consideration of his 
services during the revolution. 

This was a sorry beginning for the war, and was followed by another 
disaster. General Van Rensselaer, the commander of the centre of the 
American line, had collected a force, principally New York militia, at 
I^ewiston, on the Niagara river. At Queenstown, on the oi)positc side 
of the river, General Brock had stationed himself with a British force. 
On the 13th of October General \-m\ llenssclaer crossed a force, under 
Colonel Van Bensselacr, and attacked the British fort and captured it. 
General Brock now arrived with a reinforcement of "ix Imndred men, 
and endeavored to regain the fort, but w;vs defeated and killed. General 
Van Rensselaer hastened back to the American side to bring over more 
troops, but his men refused to obey his orders, alleging that they could 
not be ordered out of their own State without their consent. Tiie British 
were heavily reinforced, and tiie Americans were attacked and defeated ; 
all who had crossed to the Canada side being killed or ca2)tured. Among 
the prisoners was Lieutenant-Colonel Winfield Scott, afterwards com- 
mander-in-chief of the Americ^in army, then a young man, who had 
crossed over as a volunteer to aid the force on the Canada side. Utterly 
disgusted w^ith the conduct of liis troops, General Van Rensselaer 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 613 

resigned liis command after the battle of Queenstown. General Smyth, 
of Virginia, was appointed to succeed him. He made one or two efforts 
to enter Canada, but being each time prevented by his council of war, 
resigned his command. 

Thus closed the year 1812, and the first campaign of the war. Its 
results were disastrous and disheartening. The attempt to invade Canada 
had ended with the surrender of Detroit and the defeat at Queenstown. 
A large part of the frontier was lost, and over twenty-five hundred men 
had been captured by the enemy. These failures had aroused the discon- 
tent of a considerable portion of the people of the Union, and the 
opposition of the New England States to the war was greatly increased. 
Matters would have seemed hopeless had not the navy, which had been 
the most neglected branch of the public service, redeemed the national 
honor by a series of brilliant successes. 

It was the intention of the government at the outset of the war to 
retain the vessels of the navy in the ports of the country to assist in the 
defence of the harbors of the United States. The fear was openly ex- 
pressed that if these vessels should venture to put to sea they would 
certainly be captured by the British cruisers. The officers of the navy 
were indignant at these insinuations, and as soon as the news of the 
declaration of war was received at New York, several of the vessels of 
war in that port put to sea at once to avoid the orders which their com- 
manders feared were on the way to detain them in port, and also for the 
purpose of making a dash at the Jamaica fleet, which was on its way to 
England. They followed this fleet to the entrance to the British channel, 
but without overtaking it. 

A. British squadron sailed from Halifax to cruise oflP the port of New 
York. The American frigate " Constitution," Captain Hull, while en- 
deavoring to enter New York harbor, fell in with this squadron, and was 
chased by it for four days. Her escape was due entirely to the superior 
skill of her officers and the energy of her crew. The chase was one of 
the most remarkable in history, and the escape of the American frigate 
won great credit for Captain Hull. Failing to reach New York, Hull 
sailed for Boston, and reached that port in safety. Remaining there a 
few days, he put to sea again, just in time to avoid orders from Wash- 
ington to remain in port. 

In July the American frigate " Essex " captured a transport filled with 
British soldiers, and a few days later encountered the British sloop of war 
"Alert," which mistook her for a merchantman. The "Essex," suffered 
her to approach, and then opened a rapid fire upon her, which soon dis- 
abled her, and forced her to surrender. 



614 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The " Constitution " sailed from Boston to the northeast. On the 19th 
of August, while cruising off the mouth of the St. Lawrence, she fell in 
with the British frigate " Guerrit^re," Captain Dacres, one of the vessels 
tliat had chased her during the previous month. The "Guerri^re" im- 
mediately stood towards her, and both vessels prepared for action. The 
English commander opened his fire at long range, but Captain Hull 
refused to reply until he had gotten his ship into a favorable position, 
and for an hour and a half he manoeuvred in silence, under a heavy fire 
from the British frigate. At length, having gotten within pistol shot 




COMMODORE HULL. 

of her adversary, the " Constitution " opened a terrible fire upon her, and 
poured in her broadsides with such effect that the " Guerri^re " struck 
her colors within thirty minutes. The "Guerri^re" lost seventy-nine 
men killed and wounded, while the loss of the "Constitution" was but 
seven men. The "Guerri^re" was so much injured in the fight that she 
could not be carried into port, and Hull had her burned. The "Con- 
stitution " then returned to Boston with her prisoners, and was received 
with an ovation. It Avas the first time in half a century that a British 
frigate had struck her flag in a fair fight, and the victory was hailed with 
delight in all parts of the country. 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



615 



On the 18th of October the American sloop of war "Wasp," 18, 
Captain Jones, met the British brig " Frolic," 22, convoying six merchant- 
men. In order to give her convoy a chance to escape, the "Frolic" 
shortened sail, and awaited the approach of the " Wasp." The "Wasp" 
poured a raking fire into her antagonist, and then boarded. The board- 
ers found the deck of the " Frolic " covered with the dead. Only one 
man remained unhurt, and he stood gallantly at his post at the wheel. 
Before the prize could be secured the British frigate " Poictiers," 74, hove 
in sight, and captured both vessels. The " Wasp " lost eight men in the 
engagement; the " Frolic" eischtv. 

On the 25th of October the frigate " United States," 44, Captain De- 
catur, encountered the British frigate " Macedonian," 49, off the Azores, 
and after a running fight of an hour and a half forced her to strike her 
colors. The " United States " lost seven killed and five wounded ; the 
" Macedonian," thirty-six killed and 
sixty-eight wounded, out of a crew of 
three hundred men. Decatur succeeded 
in bringing his prize into New York. 

On the 29th of December the " Con- 
stitution," now under the command of 
Captain Bainbridge, captured the British 
frigate "Java," 38, off the coast of Bra- 
zil, after an action of three hours. The 
" Java " was reduced to a wreck, and as 
he was not able to get her into a friendly 
port. Captain Bainbridge caused her to 
be burned. The "Java" lost one hun- 
dred and sixty-one men out of a crew of four hundred ; the " Constitu- 
tion " lost thirty-four in killed and wounded. Among the wounded was 
Captain Bainbridge. 

These victories aroused the greatest enthusiasm in the United States. 
The great disparity in the losses sustained by the respective combatants 
made it evident to both nations that the American ships had been better 
handled in every engagement. The British endeavored to account for the 
American successes by declaring that the United States vessels were 
seventy-fours in disguise, or that they carried heavier guns than their 
adversaries ; but the thinking men of both countries saw that they had 
been won by the superior skill of the American officers, and that they 
were the plain announcement of the fact that England had found a rival 
capable of contesting her supremacy on the ocean. 

The American privateers inflicted great damage upon the commerce of 




COMMODORE BAINBRIDGE. 



616 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Great Britain. During the year 1812 these vessels captured about five 
hundred British merchantmen, and made prisoners of three thousand 
British seamen. The cargoes of the captured vessels amounted to an 
enormous sum. 

On the 8th of March, 1813, the Russian minister at Washington com- 
municated to President Madison an oiler irotn the Emperor Alexander 
of his mediation between the United States and Great Britain, for the 
purpose of bringing about a peace between them. The president at once 
accepted the Russian offer, and sent Albert Gallatin and James A. Bavard 
to St. Petersburg to join John Quincy Adams, then minister to Russia, 
as commissioners to negotiate a treaty. The British government declined 
the Russian mediation, and the matter was dropped. 

The thirteenth Congress met on the 24th of May, 1813; and entered 
upon the task of providing the means of carrying on the war. The 
principal measure resorted to was the imposition of direct taxes and in- 
ternal duties. The financial situation of the government was dishearten- 
ing. The expenses of the war had greatly exceeded the estimates, and a 
heavy deficit had to be provided for. To meet the necessities of the 
occasion new loans were authorized, but they were generally paid in the 
depreciated treasury notes, which had been issued according to act of 
Congress, and did not yield much to the government. The business of 
the country was in a state of confusion. All the banks, save a few in 
New England, had suspended specie payments, and the war spirit was 
dying out in many parts of the Union. New England had entered into 
the war with great reluctance, and was a heavy loser by it. Her opposi- 
tion to it was increasing daily. 

The government opened the campaign of 1813 with the determination 
to make another effort to conquer Canada. The army of the west, under 
General Harrison, was stationed at the upper end of Lake Erie; that of 
the centre, under General Dearborn, the commander-in-chief, was posted 
along the Niagara river; and that of the east, under General Wade 
Hampton, was at Lake Champlain. Simultaneous movements were to 
be made from these points against the British in Canada. To op|)ose 
these forces the British stationetl their armies along their frontier as fol- 
lows : General Proctor was stationed with a considerable force near 
Detroit; General Sheaf with another force covered Montreal and the 
approaches from the United States by way of Lake Champlain and the 
Sorel river; and Sir George Prevost, the commander-in-chief, held the 
line of the Niagara river. 

General Harrison was charged with the duty of recovering the territory 
lost by General Hull. Volunteers flocked to him from all jjarts of the 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



617 



west, and especially from Kentucky. A part of his force, under General 
Winchester, held a fort on the Mauraee. In January, 1813, the British 
made a demonstration against Frenchtown, on the river Raisin, and 
Winchester sent a detachment to its relief, which compelled the British 
to retreat. A little later Winchester followed with the rest of his troops 
and took position in the open country. His whole force amounted to 
scarcely one thousand men. Hearing of Winchester's exposed position. 
General Proctor marched from Fort Maiden, opposite Detroit, with fifteen 
hundred British and Indians, and, crossing the lake on the ice, attacked 
Winchester on the 22d of January, and after a desperate encounter forced 
him to surrender. Proctor promised Winchester that his men should be 
treated as prisoners of war, but in violation of his pledge set out at once 




DEFENCE OF FORT MEIGS 



on his retreat to Maiden, leaving the wounded Americans behind. The 
Indians of Proctor's command fell upon the helpless wounded men, 
massacred the majority of them, and carried the remainder to Detroit. 
Some of these they offered to release on payment of heavy ransoms ; the 
others they held for torture. Proctor made no effort to save his reputa- 
tion by protecting his prisoners, and his inhuman conduct in leaving 
them to the fury of the savages, in violation of his pledge, met, as it de- 
served, the unqualified denunciation of every honorable man. It roused 
a fierce spirit of revenge throughout the west. 

Harrison was on his march to Winchester's assistance when he learn'^d 
of his surrender. He halted at the rapids of the Maumee, and built a 
fort which he named Fort Meigs, in honor of the governor of Ohio, 



618 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Proctor advanced in the spring to attack this fort, and on the 1st of May 
opened his batteries upon it. A force of twelve hundred Kentuckians, 
under General Green Clay, of Kentucky, advanced to the relief of the 
fort, and the British and Indians were obliged to raise the siege and 
retreat. 

General Clay was placed in command of Fort Meigs. In July Proc- 
tor -again advanced and laid siege to it, but was unable to capture it. 
Hearing that Fort Stephenson, on the Sandusky, had a small garrison, 
Proctor withdrew from Fort Meigs and attacked Fort Stephenson. This 
fort had a garrison of one hundred and sixty men, and was commanded 
by Major George Croghan, a young man in his twenty-second year. He 




DEFENCE OF FORT STEPHEXSON. 



was summoned to surrender, but answered that he should hold the fort to 
the last man. On the 2d of August Proctor made a determined assault 
upon the fort, and his regulars gained the ditch into wliich they crowded 
preparatory to attempting to scale the parapet. At this moment the only 
cannon in the fort, which had been doubly charged with musket-balls, 
opened upon them from a masked port-hole. The British were cut down 
by the score, and retreated in confusion. That night, fearing that Harri- 
son would come to Croghan's relief. Proctor abandoned the siege, and 
retreated towards iMalden. 

It was clear that nothing of importance could be accomplished in this 
quarter as long as the British held Lake Erie. Oliver Hazard Perr}', a 
young lieutenant of the United States navy, volunteered to win back the 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



619 



lake from the enemy, who held it with a small squadron under Captain 
Barclay. By extraordinary exertions Perry built and equipped a fleet at 
Presque Isle, now Erie. It consisted of nine vessels of various sizes, 
from one which carried twenty-five guns down to one which carried one 
gun. Its total armament amounted- to fifty-five guns. It was manned 
by a small force of sailors from the east, and by a large number of volun- 
teers from General Harrison's army. As soon as his fleet was in proper 
condition Perry stood out into the lake to seek the enemy. The British 
squadron consisted of six vessels, carrying sixty-three guns. Each fleet 
carried about five hundred men. The two squadrons soon encountered 
each other, and on the 10th of September a severe battle was fought 
between them at the western end of the lake. Perry at the open- 
in 2; of the fio-ht 
displayed a flag 
from his vessel 
bearing the words 
of the brave Law- 
rence, "Don't give 
up the ship." It 
was greeted with 
cheers from the 
men. During the 
battle the Ameri- 
can flag ship, the 
" Lawrence," was 
disabled, and 
Perry passed in an 
open boat, under a 

heavy fire, to the " Niagara," the next largest ship, and transferred his 
flag to her. The result was that the British fleet was defeated and forced 
to surrender. Perry announced his victory to General Harrison in the 
following characteristic message : " We have met the enemy and they are 
ours. Two ships, one brig, a schooner, and a sloop." 

This victory was of the highest importance to the Americans. It gave 
them the command of Lake Eric, and opened the way to Canada. 
Harrison hastened to profit by it, and advanced rapidly towards Detroit 
and ]\Ialden. Proctor abandoned those places and retreated with his own 
forces and Tecumseh and his Indians into Canada. At Detroit Harrison 
was joined by thirty-five hundred mounted Kentuckians, under the aged 
Governor Shelby, one of the heroes of King's Mountain, and Colonel 
Richard M. Johnson. He at once entered Canada in pursuit of Proctor, 




DEATH OF TECTTMSEH. 



620 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



and by a forced march of sixty miles came up with him on the banks of 
the Thames, on the 5th of October. A short but desperate battle ensued, 
in which Tecumseh was killed and his Indians put to flight. The British 
were routed, and Proctor saved himself only by the speed of his horse. 

By these successes the Americans won back Michigan Territory, and 
for the present gave peace and security to the northwestern frontier. 
The Kentuckians returned home, and Colonel Lewis Cass, who M-as foon 
after appointed governor of Michigan, was left to garrison Detroit with 
his brigade. With fifteen hundred regulars Harrison embarked on Lake 
Erie and sailed for Buffalo to assist in the invasion of Canada from that 
quarter. 

A iBraall fleet of armed vessels was maintained in Lake Ontario bv 




DEATH OI'" GENERAL PIKE. 



each of the combatants. The American fleet was commanded by Commo- 
dore Chauncey. In April General Dearborn embarked a force of seven- 
teen hundred picked men in these vessels and Failed across Lake Ontario 
to attack York, now Toronto, the capital of Upper Canada. The Ameri- 
cans landed a short distance below the town, and advanced upon it. On 
the 27th of April the place was carried by assault. The British fired the 
magazine of one of the works from which they M'ere driven, and General 
Pike, the commander of the storming party, and one or two hundred of 
his troops were killed by the explosion. A large amount of military 
stores fell into the hands of the captors. They were transferred to 
Sackett's Harbor. 

As it was not a part of the plan of General Dearborn to hold York, 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 621 

the place was evacuated. Just before the withdrawal of the Americans 
a small building, known as the Parliament House, was burned. The 
British attributed this act to the Americans, who disclaimed it. The 
American officers believed that the house was set on fire by the disaffected 
Canadians, who had threatened to burn it. The burning of this build- 
ing was made by the British the pretext for the destruction of the capitol 
and other public buildings, at Washington, the next year. 

From York General Dearborn sailed to the Niagara to attack Fort 
George. The commander of this work, on the api)roach of the Ameri- 
cans, blew up his magazines and retreated to Burlington Heights, near 
the western end of the lake. Dearborn followed them in pursuit, but 



ATTACK UPON SACKETT S HARBOR. 



was attacked and driven back by the British on the night of the 6th of 
June. Two American generals. Winder and Chandler, were made 
prisoners in this engagement. Dearborn fell back in haste to Fort 
George. 

In the meantime General Prevost, having learned of Dearborn's 
absence from Sackett's Harbor, attacked that place, on the 29th of May, 
with one thousand men. He was repulsed with such vigor by the garri- 
son, under General Brown, that he retreated to his ships, leaving his 
wounded behind. 

Soon after this General Dearborn suffered another reverse at Fort 
George, and allowed a detachment of six hundred men of his army to be 



622 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

cut off by the British. In consequence of these failures General Dear- 
born was removed by the president, who appointed General Wilkinson, 
the commander of the troops at New Orleans, as his successor. 

It was proposed that General Wilkinson should enter Canada with hig 
troops and advance upon Montreal, and that General Hampton, com- 
manding the forces on Lake Champlain, should join iiira on the St. 
Lawrence. Wilkinson and Hampton were not on friendly terms, and 
neither of them were possessed of sufficient patriotism to overlook their 
personal differences for the good of their country. Wilkinson advanced 
as far as the rapids of the St. Lawrence, and sent a body of troops, 
under General Brown, to cover the descent of the rapids by the army. 
An engagement occurred at Chrysler's Farm, on the 11th of November; 
the British were driven back ; but the Americans lost more than three 
hundred men. Wilkinson now sent word to Hampton to move forward 
to his support, but the latter answered that he had abandoned the expedi- 
tion, and was going into winter quarters. Under these circumstances 
Wilkinson fell back to French Mills, about nine miles from St. Regis, 
where he went into winter quarters. Hampton prepared to pass the 
winter at Plattsburg on Lake Champlain. Thus the expedition was 
ruined by the quarrels of its commanders. 

In December the Americans abandoned Fort George, and retreated 
across the Niagara river. Before doing so General McClure, the com- 
manding officer, burned the village of Newark, in order to jjrevent the 
enemy from using it as quarters for their troops during the winter. 
There was no necessity and no excuse for the destruction of this village, 
and it was speedily avenged by the enemy. About the middle of Decem- 
ber the British crossed the Niagara river, surprised Fort Niagara, and 
put the garrison to the sword. In retaliation for the burning of New- 
ark they burned every town and house that could be reached on 
the American side of the river, including Lewistown, Youngstown, 
Manchester, Black Rock, and Buffiilo. 

The war was not confined to the northern frontier. In the spring of 
1813 Tecumseh had visited the Creek tribes in the southwest and aroused 
their war spirit. In August seven hundred Creeks attacked and cap- 
tured Fort Mims, on the west bank of the Alabama river, near the 
mouth of the Tombigbee. Between three and four hundred settlers, who 
had taken refuge in the fort, were massacred. 

The south was soon aroused by the news of this massacre, and in a 
short while a force of seven thousand volunteers was marching into the 
Indian country in four divisions. One division, under General Andrew 
Jackson, of Tennessee, moved southward from Nashville ; another from 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 623 

East Tennessee, under General Cocke ; a third from Georgia, under Gen- 
eral Floyd ; and a fourth from Mississippi Territory. In addition to 
these forces the lower Creeks took up arms against their brethren, and 
the Cherokees and Choctaws joined the Americans. The principal vil- 
lages of the hostile Creeks lay on and near the Coosa and Tallapoosa 
rivers, and their hunting-grounds extended much farther north. The 
Tennessee forces, under General Jackson, were the first to enter the In- 
dian country, and a number of unimportant encounters occurred. On 
the 3d of November the Indians were defeated in a bloody battle at Tal- 
lasehatche, and on the 8th of the same month at Talladega. These were 
hard-won victories for the Americans, and terrible blows to the savages. 
On the 29th of November the Georgia volunteers, under General 
Floyd, attacked the Creek town of Autossee, and killed two hundred 
warriors. 

The Creeks were badly armed, but their spirit was unbroken by their 
reverses. Early in the year 1814 they assumed the offensive, and on the 
22d of January attacked General Jackson at Emucfau. Jackson suc- 
ceeded in repulsing them, but in spite of his victory deemed it best to fall 
back to Fort Strother. On the 25th the Indians again attacked him, 
and were again defeated. Soon after this Jackson, being largely rein- 
forced, advanced into the Indian country with an array of four thousand 
Tennesseeans. At the Horse-Shoe Bend of the Tallapoosa the Creeks had 
their principal settlement, an intrenched camp, in which they had col- 
lected their women and children, under the protection of one thousand 
warriors. They were attacked here on the 27th of March, 1814, by 
Jackson's army, and their camp was carried after a desperate fight, in 
which six hundred warriors were killed, and two hundred and fifty 
women and children were made prisoners. This terrible blow put an 
end to the resistance of the Creeks. They sought peace, and were com- 
pelled to purchase it by the surrender of more than two-thirds of their 
hunting-grounds. 

The year 1813 was eventful and important in the naval history of the 
republic, and once more the navy sustained the spirits of the country, 
which had been cast down by the failure of the army. On the 25th of 
February the American sloop of war " Hornet," Captain Lawrence, cap- 
tured the British brig " Peacock," off the mouth of the Demerara river, 
afl:er an action of fifteen minutes. The " Peacock " was so terribly cut 
up by her adversary's fire that she sank in a few minutes after she struck 
her flag. Captain Lawrence returned to the United States, and was pro- 
moted to the command of the frigate " Chesapeake," which was lying in 
Boston harbor preparing for sea. While there Lawrence was challenged 



624 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

by Captain Broke, of the British frigate "Shannon," which was cruising 
off Boston harbor. Although his ship was badly manned, and his crew 
undisciplined, Lawrence accepted the challenge, and put to sea on the 1st 
of June to meet the " Shannon." The action was begun about thirty 
miles east of Boston Light, and lasted but fifteen minutes. The " Shan- 
non" w^as in every way superior to the "Chesapeake," and the latter ship 
was forced to strike her flag, with a loss of one hundred and forty-six of 
her crew. Captain Lawrence was mortally wounded. As he was being 
carried below his last words were: " Don't give up the ship!" — words 
which have since become the watchword of the service of which he was 
one of the brightest ornaments. 

The rejoicings in England over the capture of the "Chesapeake" were 
very great. They were highly gratifying to the Americans, and espe- 
cially to the little navy of the Union, whose splendid services had won 
the respect of " the mistress of the seas." 

In the summer of 1813 the "United States," " INIaccdonian," and 
" Hornet," while attempting to get to sea from New York through Long 
Island sound, were driven into the harbor of New London, and block- 
aded there by a British squadron. In August the American slooj) of war 
"Argus " was captured while cruising in the English channel by the " Peli- 
can." In September the American brig "Enterprise," 12 guns, Captain 
Burrows, captured the British brig " Boxer," Captain Blythe, off the 
coast of Maine. Both commanders fell in the engagement, and were 
buried M'ith equal honors. 

During the summer of 1813 the British fleet of Sir George Cockburn 
entered the Chesapeake repeatedly and ravaged its shores. All the ship- 
ping that could be reached by the enemy was destroyed, and the towns 
of Frcnchtown, Georgetown, Havre de Grace, and Fredericktown were 
plundered and burned. An attack was made on Norfolk, but was 
repulsed with heavy loss. Cockburn then plundered the town of Hamp- 
ton, and sailed to the southward. The barbarities committed by this fleet 
along the Chesapeake and its tributaries were horrible. Neither age nor 
sex was spared by the British sailors and marines, and women were rav- 
ished, and old men and little children murdered, with the knowledge of 
the admiral, who made no effort to sto]> the outrages. 

During the winter of 1813-14 a communication was received from the 
British government, stating that although Great Britain had declined the 
Russian mediation, she was willing to enter into direct negotiations with 
the United States, either at London or Gottenburg, in Sweden. The 
president at once accejited the English offer, and Henry Clay and Jona- 
than Russell were added to the commissioners already in Europe. Got- 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



625 



tenburg was at first selected as the place of meeting, which was afterwards 
changed to Ghent. 

At this time the opposition to the war was very great in many parts of 




NIAGARA FALLS. 



the Union. The New England States continued bitterly hostile to it, 
and the legislature of Massachusetts, in a remonstrance addressed to Con- 
gress, denounced the war as unreasonable, and urged the conclusion of a 
40 



626 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



peace. Congress itself was more divided upon the support of the war 
than it had ever been. It contained many new men, some of them des- 
tined to play prominent parts in the future history of the country. 
Pre-eminent among these was Daniel Webster, of New Hampshire, who 
from the first took a high position as one of the most gifted men in 
Congress. 

Hostilities were resumed by the Americans on the Niagara frontier 
with the beginning of the spring of 1814. Early in May General 
Brown, whose force had been increased to five thousand men, crossed the 

Niagara. Fort Erie sur- 
rendered to him, without a 
blow, on the 3d of July. 
On the 4th General Scott, 
with the advanced guard 
of the army, moved to- 
Avards the British, who 
had taken position, under 
General Riall, at Chip- 
pewa, fifteen miles distant. 
Scott was joined by Gen- 
eral Brown, with the rest 
of the army, on the night 
of the 4th, and the next 
day a severe engagement 
occurred, in which the 
British were defeated, 
with a loss of five hun- 
dred men. The loss of the 
Americans was three hun- 
dred. 

After his defeat at Chip- 
pewa General Riall fell 
back to Burlington Heights, and the Americans advanced to Queenstown, 
but soon after withdrew to Chippewa. Being strongly reinforced by a 
body of troops, under General Drummond, Riall advanced from Burlington 
Heights to attack the Americans, followed by General Drummond's com- 
mand ; and at the same time General Brown, avIio had heard of Drum- 
moiidV, arrival, set out from Chippewa to nttack the British. The advanced 
forces of the Americans were commanded by General Scott. The two 
armies unexpectedly met at Bridgewater, or Lundy's Lane, immediately 
opposite Niagara Falls, at sunset, on the 25th of July. The British occu- 




GENEItAL AVINFIEI.D PCOTT IN 1814. 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



627 



pied a strong position, and notwithstanding the lateness of the hour Scott 
resolved to attack them. The main body of the Americans, under Gen- 
eral Brown, soon arrived, and the battle became general. The British 
had posted a battery on a hill which commanded the field, and were 
doing great execution in the American ranks. It was captured by the 
regiment of Colonel James Miller, and General Drummond, who had 
arrived on the field and had taken command in place of General Riall, 
who had been wounded and captured by the Americans, advanced to 
recover it. Drummond made three determined efforts to retake the bat- 
tery, but was driven back each time. It was now midnight, and about 
eio:ht hundred men had fallen on each side. The Americans had ex- 




BATTLE OF LUNDY S LANE. 



hausted their ammunition and were dependent now upon the cartridges 
they obtained from the boxes of the fallen British. Finding all their 
efforts vain the British sullenly withdrew and left the field to the Ameri- 
cans. The latter were so exhausted by their hard march of fifteen miles, 
and five hours of constant fighting, that they made no effort at pursuit, 
and soon withdrew from the hill to their camp. As they had no means 
of hauling off the captured guns they were obliged to leave them on the 
field. Generals Brown and Scott were both wounded during the battle, 
as were nearly all of the field officers. 

The victory of Lundy's Lane was particularly gratifying to the Amer- 
icans. It was won, not over Canadian militia, but over veteran troops 



628 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



who had servcfl under Wellington in the wars with Napoleon. It broke 
the long series of defeats sustained by the Americans since the opening 
of the war, and showed what could be accomplished by American soldiers 
under competent and determined commanders and in anything like a 
fair fight. 

General Brown withdrew to Fort Erie after the battle, and being dis- 
abled by his wounds, relinquished the command to General Gaines. 
General Drummond moved forward, and on the 4th of August laid siege 
to Fort Erie. On the loth he attempted to carry the fort by an assault 
at midnight, but was repulsed with a loss of one thousand men. In spite 
of this reverse he pressed the siege with vigor, and in the meantime Gen- 




SIEGE OF FORT EKIE. 

eral Brown recovered from his wounds and resumed the command of the 
fort. On the 17th of September the Americans made a sortie against 
the batteries of the British, which were two miles in advance of their 
camp. By a sudden dash from the fort, they stormed and carried the 
batteries, spiked the guns, set fire to the magazines, inflicted a loss of six 
hundred in killed and wounded upon the enemy, and retreated into the 
fort, carrying with them four hundred prisoners. The American loss in 
this brilliant sally was three hundred men. Drummond immediately raised 
the siege and retreated across the Chippewa. In October a reinforcement 
of four thousand men arrived from Lake Champlain under General Izard, 
who assumed the command of the Amerlran army on the Niagara. He 
was one of the old-style commanders, and at once p^x-eeded to neutralize 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



629 



the gallant achievements of Brown and Scott. He did nothing nntil 
November, when, fearing that Drnmmond would be reinforced, he blew 
up Fort Erie, and retreated across the Niagara, leaving the entire Cana- 
dian shore in the possession of the British. 

General Izard had succeeded General Hampton in the command of the 
army on Lake Champlain. Upon his withdrawal to the Niagara, Gen- 




SCENE OP THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 

eral Macomb took command of the troops that remained on Lake Cham- 
plain, and held Plattsburg with a force of about three thousand men. 
Hearing that General Prevost was advancing to attack him, Macomb 
called on the militia of New York and Vermont to come to his aid, and 
about three thousand of them joined him, bringing his force to six thou- 
sand men. General Prevost having been reinforced from England, 
advanced against Plattsburg with a force of twelve thousand veteran 
troops, for the purpose of invading the State of New York. Uj)on the 



630 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



approacn of this force Macomb fell back behind the Saranac, a deep and 
rapid stream which empties into the lake at Plattsburg, and the small 
American squadron, under Commodore Macdonough, was moored across 
the entrance of Plattsburg bay. This squadron carried eighty-six guns, 
and was manned by eight hundred and fifty-six men. The British army 
M'as accompanied by a s(juadron superior in strength to that of the Amer- 
icans, and upon which they depended for the control of Lake Champlain. 
It was commanded by Captain Downie, mounted ninety-five guns, and was 
manned by one thousand men. 

Prevost arrived before Plattsburg on the 7th of September, and pro- 
ceeded to erect batteries to cover his passage of the Saranac. On the 




MACDONOIGH S VICTORY ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 

nth of Seitteml>er he made a combined attack by land and water upon 
the American position. The British squadron advanced to force an 
entrance into Plattsburg bay, and the British army at the same time 
attempted to force a ])assage of the Saranac. As the enemy's fleet 
advanced Macdonough called the crew of his flag-ship arouiul him, and 
kneeling on the (juarter-deck of his vessel prayed God to crown the 
American arms with victory that day. After a severe engagement of 
two hours and a quarter the British fleet Avas defeated and forced to 
surrender, with the ex('e])ti<in of a few gimboats which escaped. While 
this battle was going on, Prevost tried repeatedly to cross the Saranac, 
but was each time driven back with heavy loss. During the night the 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAh'D. 631 

British army retreated in disorder, abandoning their sick and wounded 
and a large quantity of military stores ; having lost twenty-five hundred 
men in the engagement. 

The country had ample cause to regret the weakness of its navy during 
this war. The exploits of those vessels which had managed to get to sea 
had shown what could be accomplished by this branch of the public 
service, and our deficiency in this respect enabled the enemy to blockade 
the ports of the Union, and to use the Chesapeake bay with as much 
freedom as if it were one of their own harbors. In the summer of 1814 
a fleet of sixty British ships under Admirals Cockburn and Cochrane, 
having on board a land-force of five thousand men under General Ross, 
assembled in the Chesapeake. Admiral Cochrane endeavored to induce 
the slaves of Virginia and Maryland to desert their masters, and offered 
them free transportation to the West Indies and Canada. As it was not 
known at what point General Ross would ^and his troops, General Win- 
der of Maryland was ordered to collect a force of fifteen thousand militia 
from the neighboring States. He proposed to occupy a central position 
from which he could cover Washington City, Annapolis, and Baltimore, 
and was anxious to call out the militia at once ; but General Armstrong, 
the secretary of war, decided that it would be time enough to call out the 
militia when the British had revealed their designs more plainly. He 
did not believe the British had any idea of advancing upon Washington, 
and thought Baltimore could defend itself. Mr. Madison submitted to 
the decision of the secretary of war, and the national capital was left 
defenceless. 

In the meantime, the British commanders, learning the exposed con- 
dition of the city of Washington, determined to attack it. They divided 
their fleet for this purpose, one portion ascending the Potomac, and 
another the Patuxent. The latter division conveyed the troops of Gen- 
eral Ross, and landed them at Benedict, on the Patuxent, about fifty 
miles from Washington. General Ross at once set out for Washington, 
advancing slowly and meeting with no resistance. As he had no horses, 
his troops were obliged to drag their three or four cannon by hand, and 
the British made but about ten miles a day. A few determined troops 
might have driven them back, and the rmds might at least have been 
obstructed and the progress of the enemy impeded. 

General Winder gathered a small force of militia, and took position at 
Bladensburg, on the east branch of the Potomac, about three miles from 
Washington. He was joined here by Commodore Barney with five hun- 
dred sailors and marines from the gunboat flotilla in the Patuxent, which 
Barney, unable to offer any resistance, had burned upon the ai)proach of 



ill ■'I \ii Kir m ijif 




„,,;, '"^hiih^ 



Ml ft 



i-^' , II 



'""»„''' 






I I 

I 



iJ' ' liii 



iil4illilLiiLUi4Ar 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 633 

the British fleet. On the 24th of August the British reached Bladens- 
burg, and attacked the force under General Winder. The militia fled 
at the first fire, but Barney and his sailors and marines stood their ground, 
and served their guns with vigor until their position was turned on both 
flanks by the superior force of the enemy, when they retreated, leaving 
their guns and^wounded in the hands of the victors. The so-called battle 
of Bladerisburg was little more than a skirmish. 

General Ross halted to rest his men, who were worn out with the 
heat, and towards sunset resumed his march, and entered W^ashiugton 
a little before dark. The government had abandoned the city some 
hours before, and had removed the greater part of its papers and archives, 
and such public property as could be carried away, and only a few 
frightened citizens remained in the town. Admiral Cochrane had some 
time before announced that the British forces were ordered " to destroy 
and lay waste all towns and districts of the United States found accessi- 
ble to the attack of British armaments," and the army of General Ross 
now proceeded to carry out these infamous instructions. They burned 
the capitol, and with it the library of Congress, the buildings occupied 
by the treasury and state departments, and plundered the president's 
mansion and set it on fire. A number of stores and private dwellings 
were also pillaged and set on fire. The navy yard, with all its contents 
and several vessels on the stocks, was entirely destroyed. The British 
afterwards attempted to excuse their shameful conduct in Washington 
by alleging that it was in retaliation for the burning of the parliament 
house at York in Canada, an act which had been disclaimed by the 
Americans and which the British had not been able to prove was their 
work. General Ross occupied Washington during the night of the 24th, 
and until dark on the 25th. Then fearing lest the Americans would 
assemble in such force as to intercept him, he retreated stealthily from 
Washington on the night of the 25th, and on the 29th reached Benedict 
and reembarked his troops. The English vessels sent up the Potomac 
succeeded in passing Fort Washington, which made little or no effort to 
stop them, and on the 28th anchored off Alexandria. Twenty-one vessels 
were captured, and the town saved itself from bombardment by paying 
a ransom of sixteen thousand barrels of flour and one thousand hogs- 
heads of tobacco. 

After resting his men, General Ross ascended the Chesapeake to the 
Patapsco, for the purpose of attacking Baltimore, which was defended 
by Fort McHenry at the mouth of the harbor, and a force of Maryland 
militia and some volunteers from Pennsylvania. A force of eight thou- 
sand men was landed at the mouth of the Patapsco, under General Ross, 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



635 



and on the 1 2tli of September advanced towards the city, while the fleet 
ascended the river to capture Fort McHenry and force its way into the 
harbor. A small party of Americans contested the advance of the British 
army, and a skirmish ensued in which General Ross was killed. A sharp 
encounter followed, each side losing about two hundred and fifty men. 
The American militia retired in good order, and on the morning of the 
13th the British resumed their march towards Baltimore. The Amer- 
icans were discovered in considerable force, occupying a line of intrench- 
ments defended by artillery, and commanded by General Samuel Smith, 




BATTLE MONUMENT, BALTIMORE, ERECTED IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO 
FELL AT NORTH POINT. 

an officer of the revolution. The British commander now deemed it best 
to await the result of the engagement between the fleet and Fort McHenry, 
which was in progress at tlie time. The British fleet maintained a heavy 
fire upon the fort, which replied with vigor, and soon made it ajiparent 
to the enemy that they could not silence it or pass it. The attack on the 
fort proving a failure, the British withdrew to North Point on the night 
of the 13th, and reembarked on their ships. During this cannonade 
Francis S. Key of Baltimore, who had visited the British fleet to obtain 
the release of certain prisoners, and who was detained by the admiral 



036 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

(luring the boinbarclmeut, Avrotc the famous song of "TIio Star-Spangled 
Banner," which has since become the national song of America. 

The Chesapeake was not the only part of the coast that suffered from 
the ravages of the British. The shores of Maine were ravaged with great 
barbarity. Stonington, Connecticut, was subjected to a four days' bom- 
bardment by a British fleet, but the militia repulsed every attempt of the 
enemy to land. The foreign commerce of the country was completely 
destroyed. The superior naval strength of the British enabled them to 
blockade the Atlantic ports so thorouglily, that the government ordered 
the lights along the coast to be destroyed, as they only served as guides 
to British cruisers. 

The opposition of the New England States to the war, which had 
caused them such severe loss, increased daily, and at length the legislature 
of Massachusetts recommended a convention of dclesrates from the sea- 
board States to devise amendments to the Constitution for the purpose 
of securing them from a recurrence of such evils as they were suffering 
from. The convention met at Hartford, Connecticut, on the 14th of 
December, 1814, and was composed of delegates from the New England 
States. The convention was bitterly opposed by the advocates of the 
war, who charged it with the intention to make a separate peace with 
Great Britain, which would have been a practical secession from the 
Union. The convention continued in session for twenty days, and 
adopted an address to the country very moderate in its tone. It pro- 
posed to amend the Constitution by making the representation in the 
lower House of Congress equal by basing it upon the free population 
onlv ; by forbidding embargo and non-intercourse laws; and by making 
the President ineligible for a second term. The convention was for many 
years exposed to the bitterest denunciation of the great mass of the 
American people. One of the results of the opposition to the war was 
the complete destruction of the old Federalist party which had oi)posed 
the war. - 

Previous to the assembling of the convention, the president, in hope 
of relieving the embarrassments occasioned by the opposition of New 
England to the war, advised the repeal of the embargo and non-inter- 
course acts and the abandonment of the entire restrictive system. HLs 
recommendations were carried out by Congress. 

In the meantime stirring events were transpiring in the south. At 
this time Florida was a possession of Spain, which was supposed to be a 
neutral power. Great Britain had laid Spain under heavy obligations 
in her struggle against Napoleon, and the British had now no difficulty 
in entering Florida, and using it as a base of operations against the 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



637 



south. Their fleet entered Pensacola harbor, and obtained possession of 
the forts. From this point they began to«tir up the Creek Indians to 
make war on the Americans, and fitted out an expedition against Fort 
Bowyer, commanded by Major Lawrence, which defended the harbor of 
Mobile. On the 15th of September an attack was made upon this fort, 
and was repulsed with the loss to the enemy of a vessel and a number of 
men. General Jackson, having collected a force of three thousand Ten- 
nesseeans, marched to Pensacola, entered the town on the 7th of Novem- 
ber, demanded that the British should leave the place at once, and noti- 
fied the Spanish governor that he should hold him responsible for the 




JACKSON SQUARE, NEW ORLEANS. 

occupation of the town or the forts by the British for purposes of hostility 
towards the United States. The British immediately blew up a fort 
which they had erected seven miles below the town, and embarked in 
their ships. 

Confident that New Orleans would be the next object of attack by the 
British, and knowing that the city was poorly prepared to resist, General 
Jackson at once sent General Coifee with the mounted Tennesseeans to 
that city, and followed with the rest of his troops as rapidly as possible. 
New Orleans was at this time a city of about twenty thousand inhabi- 
tants, less than one-half of whom were whites. The whites were princi- 
pally of French birth or parentage, and cared little for the United States. 
They could not be relied upon to hold the city against the British. The 



638 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

defences were in a miserable state, and the people were demoralized and 
insubordinate. Jackson set* to work with vigor. He proclaimed mar- 
tial law, and put down the opposition to his measures for the safety of 
the city with a firm hand. He called for volunteers to defend the city, 
and urged the free men of color to come forward and enroll themselves. 
They responded in considerable numbers. The prisons were emptied, and 
the prisoners enrolled in the ranks of the army. The services of Lafitte, 
a noted smuggler-chief of Barataria bay, and of his band, were accepted. 
The British had endeavored to secure the aid of this band as pilots, as 
thev knew the coast thoroughly, but Lafitte and his men had refused to 
hold any communication with them. 

While Jackson was thus engaged, the British fleet arrived on the coast 
of Louisiana and cast anchor olF the mouth of Lake Borgne, the shortest 
passage by water to New Orleans. It had on board a force of twelve 
thousand veteran troops, just released from the wars against Napoleon, and 
four thousand marines and sailors. The British army was commanded 
by Sir Edward Pakenham, the brother-in-law of the Duke of Welling- 
ton, and an officer of tried ability, and under him were Generals Gibbs, 
Keene,'and Lambert, veterans of the peninsular war. 

The Americans had a small flotilla in Lake Borgne, and by extraordi- 
nary exertions, Jackson managed to collect a force of five thousand troops, 
onlv one thousand of whom were regulars. On the 14th of December 
the British sent their boats into Lake Borgne, and after a severe engage- 
ment captured the American flotilla, and opened the way to the city. 
On the 22d of December the British landed twenty-four hundred men 
under General Keene, who advanced to a point on the bank of the 
Mississippi, about nine miles below New Orleans. Jackson attacked this 
party on the night of the 23d with the regulars and Coffee's Tennesseeans 
dismounted, and drove them to take shelter behind a levee. The success 
of the Americans in this engagement greatly encouraged them to hope 
for a similar issue to the final conflict. 

The next day Jackson took position on solid ground behind a broad 
and deep trench that extended across the plain of Glial mette from the 
Mississippi to an impassable swamp, and covered his position with a line 
of intrenchments. The British, believing Jackson's force to be much 
stronger than it really was, made no attempt to interfere with him for 
several davs, and he employed this delay in strengthening his line with 
bales of cotton. The British on the 28th of December opened a heavy 
cannonade upon the American line. Jackson replied with energy with his 
five pieces of artillery, and the firing was continued without accomplish- 
in*-- anvthinc- definite for several hours. On the 1st of January, 1815, they 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



639 



attempted a second cannonade, but the American guns soon silenced their 
fire. On tlie 4th of January, a body of twenty-two liun(h-ed Ken- 
tucky riflemen, wlio had descended the Mississij)pi to liis assistance 
reached Jackson's camp. Only one-half of them were armed. Jackson 
could not supply the remainder with arms, but set them to work to con- 
struct a second line of intrenchments in the rear of his first. 

Having finished their preparations, the British erected a battery of six 




THE PLAIN OF CHALMETTE— SCENE OF THE BATTLE OP NEW ORLEANS. 

eighteen pounders on the night of the 7th of January, and on the morning 
of the 8th advanced to carry the American line by storm. Their centre 
was led by General Pakenham in person, and other columns under Gen- 
erals Gibbs and Keene moved against the right and left wings of the 
Americans. The open space, over which the enemy were obliged to pass 
was nearly a mile in w^idth, and was completely commanded by Jackson's 
guns. Tlie British advanced in splendid style, and were soon within 



640 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



range of tlio ^Vniorican artillery, which opened on them with terrible 
effect. They never wavered, but closing up their ranks firmly pressed 
on. As they came within musket shot the Kentucky and Tennessee 
riflemen opened a fatal fire upon them which literally mowed them down. 
They wavered and broke. General Pakenham attempted to rally them, 
and was shot down. Generals Gibbs and Keene were wounded while 
engaged in the same attempt, the latter mortally. The command devolved 
upon General Lambert, who made two more attempts to carry the line 
by storm. Each time the fatal fire of the American riflemen drove 
back the tried veterans of Wellington's campaigns, and at last they broke 
and fled in confusion. General Lambert continued the retreat to the 




BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 



shore of the gulf, wlicrc the Britisii fleet lay, and about a fortnight later 
embarked his troops and withdrew. 

The American loss in the battle of New Orleans was seven killed and 
six wounded. The British lost two thousand in killed and wounded. 

The victory was of the highest importance. It saved not only New 
Orleans but the mouth of the Mississippi from British control. Had 
the army of General Pakenham been successful, there is good reason to 
believe that Kngland M'ould have refused to relinquish the Mississippi, 
and the war would have gone on, or peace would have lieen made with 
the mouth of the great river under the control of England. The victory 
closed the war, and was won as we shall sec three weeks after the treaty 
of peace was signed. 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 641 

At sea the war was carried on by the few American cruisers that man- 
aged to elude the blockade of our coast. The frigate " Essex/' Commodore 
Porter, went to sea in 1813, and made a number of captures in the 
Atlantic. Learning that the British whalers, which had been armed for 
the purpose of capturing American vessels engaged in the same trade, 
were doing considerable damage in the Pacific, Commodore Porter sailed 
around Cape Horn and entered that ocean. He captured twelve armed 
British whalers in the course of a few months, and then learning that the 
British frigate "Phoebe" had been sent in pursuit of him. Porter sailed to 
•Valparaiso to look for her. While he lay there the " Phoebe," accompanied 
by the English sloop of war " Cherub," arrived oif the harbor. The 
"Phoebe" was herself a full match for the "Essex," but Porter resolved to 
fight both vessels. As he was leaving the harbor a sudden sqSall carried 
away his main topmast, and left him at the mercy of his enemies, which at 
once attacked him. His defence was one of the most gallant and desperate 
in history, but he was forced to surrender, but not until he had lost fifty- 
eight of his crew killed, and sixty-six wounded. 

In January, 1815, the frigate "President," Commodore Decatur, man- 
aged to elude the blockade of New York and get to sea. She was chased 
by a British squadron of five vessels, and a running fight ensued. Being 
entirely disabled, the " President " was forced to surrender. 

In February, 1815, while cruising off the port of Lisbon, one fine 
moonlight niglit, the " Constitution," Captain Stewart, encountered two 
British sloops of war, th,e "Cyane," 24, and the "Levant," 18, and cap- 
tured both of them after a short engagement. These vessels were captured 
after peace was signed, and were restored to the British. On the 23d of 
March, the " Hornet," Captain BIddle, captured the British brig "Penguin" 
off the Cape of Good Hope. The " Penguin " Avas so much injured that 
Biddle was forced to destroy her. On the 30th of June the " Peacock," 
Captain Warrington, ignorant of the close of the war, captured the 
" Nautilus " in the East Indies. The latter vessel was restored to the 
British. Thus the war, which opened so gloomily for the Americans, 
closed with a series of brilliant successes for them. 

In the meantime negotiations for peace had been conducted between the 
American and British commissioners at Ghent, in Belgium. The Amer- 
ican commissioners had been instructed to demand the settlement of the 
impressment question, and at the same time to give assurance that upon 
the relinquishment of that claim by England Congress would enact a laAV 
forbidding the enlistment of English sailors in either the navy or mer- 
chant service of the United States. On the 14tli of December, 1814, the 
labors of the commissioners were brought to a close, and a treaty of peace 
41 



642 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



between the United States and Great Britain was signed. The treaty 
provided that all places captured by either party during the war should 
be restored to their rightful possessors. Arrangements were made for 
determining the northwest boundary of the United States, and for set- 
tling matters of minor importance. The treaty was silent on the subject 
of impressments, the cause of the war. Nevertheless Great Britain 
ceased to exercise her claim to this right as regarded the United States, 
and has not since attempted to revive it, so that the object of the war, the 
protection of American sailors from impressment by England, w'as at- 
tained after all. The treaty was unanimously ratified by the Senate, and 
on the 18th of February peace was proclaimed by the president. A few 




THE " nORN'ET " AND THE " PENGUIN." 



days later the president recommended to Congress the passage of a iaw 
forbidding the enlistment of foreign seamen in American vessels. 

The proclamation of peace was hailed with delight in all parts of the 
country, especially in the Atlantic cities, which had suffered heavily by 
the war, and the national rejoicings Avere intensified by the news which 
arrived a few days later of the brilliant victoiy of New Orleans. 

Soon after the conclusion of peace with Great Britain, the United 
States w'cre called ujion to punish the insolence of the dey of Algiers. 
That ruler, thinking that the United States Avere too much crippled by 
their recent conflict with Great Britain to punish his insolence, suddenly 
made war upon them. He threatened to reduce Mr. Lear, the American 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



643 



consul, to slavery, and compelled him to purchase his liberty and that of 
hiri family by the payment of a large ransom. Several American mer- 
chantmen were captured by the Algerine pirates, and their crews reduced 
to slavery. The excuse offered by the dey for these outrages was that 
the presents of the American government were not satisfactory. 

The government of the United States determined to compel the Bar- 
bary powers to make a definite settlement of the questions at issue 
between them and this country, and in May, 1815, Commodore Decatur 
was despatched to the Mediterranean with a fleet of ten vessels, three of 
.which were frigates. He was ordered to compel the dey to make satis- 




COMMODORE DECATUR. 



faction for his past outrages, and to give a guarantee for his future good 
conduct. On tlie voyage out Decatur fell in with the largest frigate in 
the Algerine service, near Gibraltar, on the 17th of June, and captured 
her after a fight of thirty minutes. On the 19th another Algerine cruiser 
was taken. The fleet then proceeded to Algiers, but upon its arrival 
found the dey in a very humble frame of mind. The loss of his two 
best ships, and the determined aspect of the Americans, terrified him into 
submission, and he humbly sued for peace. He was required to come on 
board of Decatur's flag-ship, and there sign a humiliating treaty with the 
United States, by which he bound himself to indemnify the Americans 
from whom he had extorted ransoms, to surrender all his prisoners uncon- 



644 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ditionally, to renounce all claim to tribute from the American govern- 
ment, and to cease from molesting American vessels in future. 

The difficulty with Algiers having been satisfactorily settled, Decatui. 
sailed to Tunis and Tripoli, and demanded of the government of each of 
those countries indemnity for some American vessels which had been cap- 
tured by the British in their harbors with their connivance. The demand 
was coupled in each case with a threat of bombardment, and was com- 
plied with. About the middle of the summer Commodore Bainbridge 
joined Decatur with the " Independence," 74, the " Congress," and sev- 
eral other vessels, but the energetic Decatur had settled all the difficulties, 
and had so humbled the Barbary powers that they never again renewed 
their aggressions upon American commerce. The American fleet then 
visited the principal ports of the Mediterranean. The brilliant record 
made by the navy during the war with England secured it a flattering 
reception everywhere. 

In the autumn of 1815 the Indian tribes deprived of the support of 
Great Britain made peace with each other and with the United States. 
The northwestern frontier was thus secured against the further hostility 
of the savages. 

The finances of the country were in a wretched condition at the close 
of the war. All the banks but those of New England had suspended 
specie payments, and none were now in a condition to return to a specie 
basis. The public debt was over $100,000,000, and there was a general 
lack of confidence throughout the country. Mr. A. J. Dallas, the secre- 
tary of the treasury, in view of the general distress, proposed to abolish 
a number of the internal taxes which had been levied for the support of 
the war. In their place he advised the imposition upon imports from 
foreign countries of duties sufficiently high not only to affi)rd a revenue, 
but also to protect the manufactures which had sprung up during the 
war, and which were threatened with ruin by the competition of European 
goods. The president, in his annual message, warmly recommended such 
a course. Another important measure was also enacted. The charter of 
the first Bank of the United States expired in 1811. Efforts had been 
made, without success, to obtain its renewal, and Mr. Madison, in Janu- 
ary, 1814, had vetoed a bill for this purpose which had passed both 
Houses of Congress. In the spring of 1816 a bill was passed by Con- 
gress chartering a new Bank of the United States for twenty years, with 
a capital of $35,000,000, and received the president's signature on the 
10th of April. It was located in Philadelphia, but had branches in 
other States. It gave the people a uniform currency, good in all parts 
of the country, and redeemable on demand in gold and silver, and thus 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



645 



did much to remedy the financial difficulties of the times. Some- 
wliat later a law was passed requiring that all sums of money due 
the United States should be paid in gold or silver coin, "in treasury 
notes, in notes of the Bank of the United States, or in notes of banlvs 
payable, and paid on demand, in 
specie." 

On the 19th of April, 1816, the ^ 

Territory of Indiana was admitted -a^fMlPliiiMlBiM^rffi o 'fri(^ ''^' 
into the Union as a State, making 
the nineteenth member of the Con- ^ 
federacy. 

The presidential election took 
place in the fall of 1816. Mr. Madison having declined to be a candi- 
date for a third term, the Democratic party nominated James Monroe, of 
Virginia, for President, and Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York, for 
Vice-President, and elected them by large majorities over the Federal 
candidates, who were : For President, Rufus King, of New York ; for 
Vice-President, John Howard, of Maryland. 




COAT OF ABM8 OF INDIANA. 




CHAPTER XXXIV. 



THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF JAMES MONROE AND JOHN QUINCT ADAMS. 




Inauguration of Mr. Monroe — His Tour through the Eastern States — Admission of Mis- 
sissippi into tlie Union — Troubles with the Indians — General Jackson's Vigorous 
Measures against the Spaniards in Florida — Purchase of Florida by the United States — 
Illinois becomes a State — The First Steamship — Maine admitted into the Union — The 
Slavery Question — The Missouri Compromise — Admission of Missouri as a State — The 
Fourth Census — Re-election of Mr. Monroe — The Tariff — Protective Policy of the Gov- 
ernment — Recognition of the Spanish Republics — The Monroe Doctrine — Visit of 
Lafayette to the United States — Retirement of Mr. Monroe — John Quincy Adams 
elected President — His Inauguration — Rapid Improvement of the Country — Increase 
of Wealth and Prosperity — Internal Improvements — The Creek Lands in Georgia 
ceded to the United States — Death of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams — The Anti- 
Masons^Tlie Tarifl" of 1828 — Andrew Jackson elected President of the United States. 

AMES MONROE was inaugurated President of the United 
States, at Washington, on the 4th of March, 1817. He had 
served during the revokition in tlie army of the United States, 
and had entered Congress soon after the formation of the govern- 
ment as a representative from Virginia, and had won great credit 
by his services in that body. He had been secretary of state during 
the eight years of Mr. Madison's administration, and had groatl}' in- 
creased his fame by his discharge of the diffi- 
cult and delicate duties of this position. He 
was a man of amiable and conciliatory char- 
acter, and was popular with both parties. In 
his inauo-ural address he declared his inten- 
tion to administer the government in accord- 
^^ " litest ,,,||Pt^^^ ance with the principles of Washington, and 

the sentiments of this document were warmly 
api)lauded throughout the country by Feder- 
alists as well as Democrats. Tlie administra- 
tion of INIr. Monroe covered a period gener- 
ally known in our political history as " the 
era of good feeling." Party lines were almost 
blotted out, and the people of the country 
were more united than at any previous or subsequent qeriod in the 
support of national measures. 
646 




JAJIES MONKOE. 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF MONROE AND J. Q. ADAMS. 647 

A few months after his inauguration President Monroe made a tour 
through the Eastern States. He was received Avith marked attention 
everywhere, and the Federalist city of Boston entertained him with the 
cordial hospitality which is one of her characteristics. 

On the 10th of December, 1817, the western portion of the Territory of 
Mississippi was admitted into the Union as the State of Mississippi. The 
eastern portion of the former Territory was erected into the Territory of 
Alabama, for which a government was provided by Congress. 

Towards the close of the year 1817 the Seminole Indians, whose 
lands lay within the Spanish province of Florida, began to commit 
depredations along the borders of Georgia and Alabama Territory. 
They were joined by the Creeks, and their operations soon became so im- 
portant as to demand the immediate action of the federal government. 
General Gaines, commanding the federal troops in Alabama, attempted to 
check the Indians, but his forces were inadequate to the task, and he was 
compelled to ask assistance of the 
government. General Jackson, com- 
manding the southern department, 
Avas ordered to call out the militia 




COAT OF ARMS OF MISSISSIPPI. 



and take the field against the In- 
dians. He collected a force of one 
thousand mounted Tennesseeans, 
and in March, 1818, invaded the 
Indian country, and in a few weeks laid it waste ; the villages and corn- 
fields were burned, and the cattle captured or killed. 

Being satisfied that the Spaniards in Florida had incited the Indians 
to make war on the United States, General Jackson, as soon as he had 
punished the Indians, marched into Florida and seized St. Marks, on 
Appalachee bay, the only fortified town of the Spaniards in that part of 
Florida. An armed American vessel, cruising off the Florida coast, 
hoisted the British colors, and two prominent hostile Creek chiefs were 
decoyed on board, and were summarily hanged by order of Jackson. In 
one of his forays against the Indians Jackson captured two British 
traders, liobert C. Ambrister, or Ambuster, and Alexander Arbuthnot. 
They were accused of aiding the Indians, were tried and found guilty by 
a court-martial, and were promptly hanged. The Spanish governor in- 
dignantly protested against the invasion of Florida, but Jackson, unmoved 
by this protest, advanced in May to Pensacola, the seat of the Spanish 
provincial government, which place was immediately surrendered to him. 
The Spanish governor fled to Fort Barrancas, below the town. Jackson 
attacked the fort and compelled it to surrender after a brief resi.sfcmce, 



648 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

whereupon the governor continued his flight to Havana. The invasion 
of Florida by Jackson drew forth an indignant protest from the Spanish 
government, but his conduct was sustained by a decisive majority in both 
Houses of Congress. The Spanish government did not press the matter, 
as negotiations were soon entered upon which brought about an amicable 
settlement of the difficulty. 

The Spanish kingdom was indebted to certain citizens of the United 
States in sums amounting in the aggregate to $5,000,000. Spain in- 
structed her minister at Washington to conclude a treaty with the United 
States ceding Florida to them as an equivalent for these claims. The 
treaty was arranged in 1819. Spain ceded to the United States all her 
claims to East and West Florida, and to the territory claimed by her on 
the Pacific coast north of 42 degrees of north latitude, and the federal 
government assumed the Spanish debt to the citizens of this country. 
Two years later this treaty was ratified by Spain, and on the 22d of 
April, 1821, the president formally announced the acquisition of Florida 

by the United States. This pur- 
chase also included the territory in 
^^^^_:g. Oregon claimed by Spain, and em- 
=. braced an area of 367,320 square 
'# miles. Florida was at once organ- 
ized as a Territory, and General 
Jackson was appointed its first 

COAT OF ARMS OF ILLINOIS. 

governor. 

On the 3d of December, 1818, the Territory of Illinois was admitted 
into the Union as a State. 

The year 1819 M-as marked by an event of great importance in the 
history of the world. Steam had been used for some time in the inland 
navigation of the Union, but it was not generally believed it could be 
applied to sea-going vessels. The steamship " Savannah," built in New 
York, but owned in the city from which she was named, made a success- 
ful voyage from New York to Savannah in the early part of 1819. In 
INIay of that year she sailed from Savannah for Liverpool, and reached 
that port in safety. From Liverpool she subsequently made a voyage to 
St. Petersburg. She was the first steam vessel that ever crossed the 
Atlantic, and, wherever she went, was an object of the greatest interest. 
The question of steam navigation on the ocean was thus satisfactorily 
settled by America. 

On the 14th of December, 1819, Alabama was admitted into the Union 
as a State, making the total number of States twenty-two. 

On the 15th of March, 1820, Maine, which had formed a part of 




ADMINISTRATIONS OF MONROE AND J. Q. ADAMS. 



649 




COAT OF ABM8 OF ALABAMA. 



Massachusetts, but had been ceded by that State to the general govern- 
ment, was admitted into the Union as a State. The object of the erection 
of this new State was to oifset the growing power of the Southern States 
by the creation of a new member of the Union in New England. The 
number of the New England States was thus increased to six. 

For some years past the question of African slavery in the States had 
been assuming an important and alarming position in the public mind. 
The States of the north and west had gotten rid of such negro slaves ^s 
they had originally possessed, and 
had forbidden their citizens to own 
or bring within their limits for pur- 
poses of labor any persons of this 
class. The Southern States, on the 
other hand, comprised a region in 
which slave labor was particularly 
profitable, and it was believed by the 
people of this region that the industry of many parts of the south could 
not be properly developed by white men, as the climate was more un- 
suited to them than to the negroes. The production of cotton, rice, 
sugar, and tobacco depended on the labor of the negro, and in the States 
where those great staples were raised slavery was regarded as a necessity. 
At the period we are now considering slavery existed in the States of 
Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, 
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Being 

regarded by these States as neces- 
sary to their prosperity, they con- 
sidered any and all plans for its 
removal as attacks upon their chief 
source of wealth. 

In the non-slaveholding States 
the feeling that slavery was sinful 
had been gradually gaining ground, 
and there were many persons in the south who held the same views. 
Certain religious bodies in the country had distinctly expressed their be- 
lief that it was contrary to the teachings of Christianity to own slaves, 
and memorials had been presented to the legislatures of some of the 
States, and to the Congress of the United States, praying for the abolition 
of slavery. 

The law for the organization of the Northwest Territory forbade the 
admission of slavery into the States to be formed out of that Territory, 
and thus secured them for free labor. Though Congress did not hesitate 




COAT OF ARMS OF MAINE. 



G50 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



to legislate upon the subject of slavery in this case, it steadily refused to 
comply with the demands of the petitions presented to it praying it to 
take measures for the abolition of slavery throughout the nation. The 
existence of slavery within the individual States was recognized and pro- 
tected by the Constitution, and Congress held that it hacf no right to 
interfere with the domestic relations of those States in which slavery^ 
thus recognized and protected, was established. 

In February, 1819, the Territory of Missouri, which was formed out 




COTTON PLANTATION. 



of a part of the liOuisiana purchase, asked p*^rmission to form a constitu- 
tion preparatory to being admitted into the Union as a State. When the 
bill for this purpose M-as presented to the House of Representatives on 
the 13th of February, Mr. Tallmadge, of New York, proposed to insert 
a clause providing "that the further introduction of slavery, or involun- 
tary servitude, be prohibited, except for the punishment of crimes whereof 
the party shall have been duly convicted ; and that all children born 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF MONROE AND J. Q. ADAMS. 651 

in said State, after the admission thereof into the Union, shall be free at 
the age of twenty-five years." 

The announcement of this amendment produced a great sensation in 
the House, and throughout the country. It was believed by the advo- 
cates of slavery that the resolutions of the House of Representatives of 
1790, in reply to the first petition presented to it for the abolition of 
slavery, had settled the question of the powers of the federal government 
respecting slavery. No eftbrt had been made to revive the subject in the 
admission of Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama, 
in each of which States negro slavery existed. Many of the most de- 
termined opponents of slavery believed that, under the constitution and 
the Louisiana treaty with France, Congress had no right to adopt the 
proposed restriction upon the admission of Missouri as a State. Among 
these were Mr. Jefferson, then living in retirement at Monticello, and 
John Quincy Adams, the secretary of state in Mr. Monroe's cabinet. 
Both of these gentlemen were sincerely desirous of the abolition of 
slavery. Mr. Jefferson believed that the States alone had power to legis- 
late upon the subject within their respective limits. The opponents of 
slavery, on the other hand, contended that while Congress had no j^oAver 
to interfere with slavery in the thirteen original States, it had full power 
to legislate concerning it in the Territories, which were the common prop- 
erty of the States north and south. The advocates of slavery contended 
that, as the treaty under which the Louisiana purchase was n)ade con- 
tained a pledge to the inhabitants of that Territory that they should enjoy 
" all the privileges of citizens of the United States," such a restriction as 
that proposed by Mr. Tallmadge would be a violation of this pledge. 
They claimed also that as slaves were property, and the Territories the 
common possession of the States, the citizens of the slaveholding States 
had the right to carry their property into the Territories ; and that the 
prohibition of slavery in the Territories would be to deprive the south of 
her share in their enjoyment. The anti-slavery advocates replied to this, 
that slave and free labor could not coexist on the same soil, and that to 
allow slavery in the Territories would be to drive free labor out of them ; 
and that it would be a great wrong to allow the introduction of a few 
hundred thousand slaves at the cost of driving millions of free men from 
the Territories. 

The discussion of this question produced intense feeling between the 
Northern and Southern States, and the sectional division of the country 
was drawn too deep to be effaced while the cause of it remained. It was 
very clear to thinking men that the feelings aroused by this controversy 
could not be quieted until the institution of slavery should be abolished 



652 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

throughout the country, or should be introduced into every new State 
formed out of the Territories remaining to the republic. The excitement 
deepened daily, and at one time became so intense as to threaten the 
existence of the Union. Good men of all parties gave their best elforts 
to the task of effecting a settlement of the difficulty, but amid the storm 
of passion which was aroused by the debate in Congress it was hard to 
accomplish anything. 

The bill allowing the people of Missouri to form a State constitution 
passed the House of Representatives with Mr. Tallmadge's amendment 
by a small majority. It was defeated in the Senate. When Congress 
met again in December, 1819, the debate was renewed upon the Missouri 
question. The House again passed the bill forbidding the existence of 
slavery in Missouri. The Senate struck out Mr. Tallmadge's amend- 
ment, and added to the House bill, as a substitute for it, a proviso offered 
by Mr. Thomas, of Illinois, that slavery should not exist in any part of 
the Louisiana Territory north of 36 degrees and 30 minutes north lati- 
tude, and west of the proposed State of Missouri, or in any State to be 
formed out of this Territory. The House refused to accept the Senate's 
amendment, and in order to adjust their differences a committee of con- 
ference was appointed by the two Houses. 

Maine, whose admission we have related, was an applicant for admis- 
sion into the Union at this time, and it was contended by the south that 
it was unjust to admit her without any restriction as to her domestic 
institutions, and yet to impose upon Missouri a restriction which would 
deprive a large part of her population of their property, and close the 
State against emigration from the south. The result of the connnittee 
of conference was that after long and exciting debates the amendment 
offered by Mr. Thomas, of Illinois, was accepted. Maine was admitted 
as a free State. It was enacted by Congress that slavery should never 
exist north of the line of 36 degrees 30 minutes north latitude ; and that 
Missouri should be admitted into the Union as a slave State upon the 
adoption of a constitution by her people. This was regarded as an 
equitable settlement of the difficulty, and the measure is known as tho 
IMissouri Compromise. The act for the admission of Maine received 
the president's approval on the 3d of March, 1820, and the State was 
admitted into the Union under it on the loth of March. The separate 
act in relation to Missouri was approved by the president on the 8th of 
March, 1820. Its title shows its object. It was, "An act to authorize 
the people of Missouri Territory to form a constitution and State 
government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an 
equal footing with the original States, and to prohibit slavery in certain 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF MONROE AND J. Q. ADAMS. 653 

Territories." As we shall see the State of Missouri was not admitted into 
the Union under the famous Missouri Compromise. 

When Congress met in December, 1820, the constitution adopted by 
Missouri was presented to that body. It contained a clause which pre? 
vented free people of color from settling in the State. "This clause/' 
says Colonel Benton, " was adopted for the sake of peace — for the sake 
of internal tranquillity — and to prevent the agitation of the slave ques- 
tion." * It was objected to in Congress by the party that had previously 
opposed the admission of Missouri as a slave State. This party argued 
that the constitution required that the citizens of one State should be en- 
titled to the privileges of citizens in the other States ; and that as some 
of the States recognized free people of color as citizens, this provision of 
the Missouri constitution was in open hostility to the constitution of the 
United States, since it deprived the citizens of some of the States of their 
rights. The friends of the compromise measure were astounded, as they 
had supposed that it had removed all obstacles to the admission of 
Missouri, which had already exercised the privileges of a State in electing 
senators and representatives to Congress, and in taking part in the presi- 
dential election of 1820. The subject was reopened in Congress in all 
its bitterness, and the country again plunged into profound agitation. 

At this juncture Henry Clay exerted himself with great energy to 
bring about a settlement of the dispute. He induced the House to com- 
mit the matter to a committee of thirteen, of which he was made chair- 
man. This committee advised the admission of Missouri upon the con- 
dition that the obnoxious clause in her constitution should be withdrawn 
and that her legislature should pass no law violative of the rights of 
citizens of other States. Mr. Clay supposed that as this recommendation 
amply met the objection to the admission of Missouri, it would remove 
the last obstacle to the accomplishment of that object. To his astonish- 
ment it was defeated by a vote of eighty for it and eighty-three against 
it. The struggle now became more bitter than ever. The anti-slavery 
party, which had by this time obtained a definite existence, were deter- 
mined that the right of the general government to control the slavery ques- 
tion should be acknowledged. The pro-slavery party were determined 
to resist the exercise of that claim. Threats were freely indulged to de- 
stroy the Union by the withdrawal of the States. Mr. Clay, undaunted 
by his failure, renewed his patriotic efforts to bring about a settlement of 
the dispute, and at length secured the passage of measures substantially 
the same as those advised by his first committee. The act of Congress 
for this purpose was approved by the president on the 2d of March, 1821. 



* BentovHa Thirty Year^ View, vol. i., p. 8. 



654 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The Missouri legislature on the 26th of June expunged the obnoxious 
article from the constitution of the State, and on the 10th of August the 
president issued his proclamation admitting Missouri into the Union.* 

The slavery question was quieted for a time by the admission of Mis- 
souri, but it was not settled. We shall encounter it again and again in 
the remaining chapters of this work. 

In 1820 the fourth census of the United States placed the population 
of the republic at 9,638,191 souls. 

In the fall of 1820 Mr. Monroe and Governor Tompkins were re- 
elected president and vice-president of the United States. Mr. IMonroe 
received at the polls a majority of the votes of every State in the Union, 
and every electoral vote but one, which was one in the college of New 
Hampshire, and was cast for John Quincy Adams. Mr. Monroe entered 
upon his second term on the 4th of March, 1821. 

Next in importance to the slavery question was that of the tariff, or 
the imposition of a protective duty in favor of home manufactures. In 

his inaugural address the president 
had recommended the imposition of 
such a system of duties. During 
the war the non-intercourse laws of 
Congress and the rigid blockade 
maintained by the British fleet en- 
tirely cut the United States off from 
commercial intercourse with the rest 
of the world, and compelled the States to depend upon their own exertions 
for the supply of their wants. During this period numerous manufacturing 
enterprises had sprung up, especially in New England, where capital was 
idle, and labor abundant. At the close of the war the country was flooded 
with European goods, which were sold at reduced prices for the especial 
purpose of ruining American manufactures. In their weak and helpless 
condition the American enterprises could not endure this competition, and 

* "A general idea prevails very extensively that Missouri was admitted as a slave State 
in 1820, under an agreement with the Restrictionists, or Centralists, proposed by Mr. Clay, 
that she should be so admitted upon condition that negro slavery should be forever pro- 
hibited in the public domain north of 36 degrees 30 minutes north latitude. No greater 
error on any important historical event ever existed. The truth is, Mr. Clay was not the 
author of the territorial line of 36 degrees 30 minutes, incorporated in the act of 1820; 
nor was Missouri admitted under the provisions of that act. On the contrar}', she was ad- 
mitted on the 10th of August, 1821, by presidential proclamation, upon the 'Fundamental 
Condition,' in stibstance, that the State government, in all its departments, should be sub- 
ject to the constitution of the United States, as all the State governments were, and are.' 
— A Compendium of the History of the United States. By Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, 
p. 329. 




COAT OF ARMS OF MISSOURI. 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF MONROE AND J. Q. ADAMS. 655 

the tariiFwas proposed as the only means of saving them from ruin. The 
first measure of this kind was passed by Congress in 1816, and was op- 
posed by the New England States, which were then largely engaged in 
commerce, and was supported by the south. In 1820 the tariU" was re- 
vised. The New England States, which had directed the chief efforts to 
manufactures since 1816, had felt the beneficial eifects of protective duties, 
and now became the warm supporters of the tariff. The south being an 
agricultural section had found that its interests demanded free trade, had 
changed its position and resolutely opposed the tariff. In spite of the 
opposition to the measure, however, the duties were increased in the tariff 
of 1820. 

For some years past Mexico and the States of South America formerly 
held by Spain as provinces had been struggling to achieve their independ- 
ence of the mother country. Henry Clay had exerted himself with en- 
thusiasm to obtain from Congress a recognition of their independence, but 
such a step had been considered premature. In March, 1822, however, 
his efforts were crowned with success, and a bill was passed by Congress, 
in accordance with the recommendation of the president, recognizing the 
independence of Mexico and the South American republics, and providing 
for the establishment of diplomatic relations with them. The next year 
President Monroe declared in a message to Congress that, " as a principle, 
the American continents, by the free and independent position they have 
assumed and maintained, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects 
for future colonization by any European power." This claim that 
America belongs to republicanism, and is not to be the scene of European 
schemes for territorial aggrandizement, has since been known as the 
" Monroe doctrine," and has been regarded as one of the cardinal points 
of the policy of the government of the United States. 

The last year of Mr. Monroe's administration was marked by an event 
of the deepest interest to the whole country. In 1824 the venerable 
Marquis de Lafayette came to the United States at the express invitation 
of Congress, to visit the nation whose freedom he had helped to achieve. 
He reached New York on the 13th of August, and was received with 
enthusiasm. He travelled through all the States, and was everywhere re- 
ceived with demonstrations of respect and affection, and he was given 
abundant evidence in all parts of the country that the nation cherished 
with love and pride the memory of the generous stranger who came to 
its aid in its darkest hour of trial. Returning to Washington during the 
session of Congress, Lafayette sjient several weeks there. Congress, as a 
token of the gratitude of the nation for his services, voted him a township 
of land, and the sum of two hundred thousand dollars. The frigate 



656 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



" Brandywine," just finished, was appointed to convey him back to 
France — a delicate compliment, as the vessel was named after the stream 
on whose banks Lafayette fought his first battle, and was wounded, in 
the cause of American independence. At the time of his visit to the 
United States Lafayette was nearly seventy years old. 

In the fall of 1824 the presidential election was held amid groat 
political excitement. The " era of good feeling " was at an end, and 
party spirit ran high. There were four candidates in the field, Mr. 
Monroe having declined a third term; Andrew Jackson, John Quincy 
Adams, William H. Crawford, and Henry Clay, ^one of these received 
a popular majority, and the election was thrown into the House of Rep- 
resentatives in Congress, and resulted in the choice of John Quincy 
Adams, of Massachusetts, as President of the United States. John C. 

Calhoun, of South Carolina, had been chosen 
Vice-President by the popular vote. 

On the 4th of March, 1825, John Quincy 
Adams was inaugurated President of the 
United States. He was the son of John 
Adams, the second president of the republic, 
and was in his fifty-eighth year. He was a 
man of great natural ability, of strong per- 
sonal character, and of unbending integrity. 
He had been carefully educated, and was 
one of the most learned men in the Union. 
Apart from his general education he had 
received a special training in statesmanship. 
He had served as minister to the !Xether- 
lands, and in the same capacity at the courts 
of Portugal, Prussia, Russia, and England, where he had maintained a 
high reputation. He had represented the State of IMassachusetts in the 
Federal Senate, and had been secretary of state, in the cabinet of Mr. 
Monroe, during the last administration. Pic was, therefore, thoroughly 
qualified for the duties of the high office upon which he now entered. 
He called to his cabinet men of marked ability, at the head of which 
w^as Henry Clay, who became secretary of state. The administration of 
Mr. Adams was one of remarkable prosperity. The country was grow- 
ing wealthier by the rapid increase of its agriculture, manufactures, and 
commerce ; and abroad it commanded the respect of the world. Still 
partv spirit raged with great violence during the whole of this period. 

The invention of the cotton gin, by Eli Whitney, in 1793, by which 
the seed was separated from the cotton, had so cheapened the cost of pro- 




JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF MONROE AND J. Q. ADAMS. 657 

ducing that great staple, that it had become the principal article of 
export from the United States, and a source of great and growing wealth 
to the whole country. 

Several important undertakings were prosecuted with vigor, or were 
completed during Mr. Adams' term of office. The National Road, a 
splendidly constructed highway, built by the general government, from 
Cumberland, Maryland, across the mountains, was completed to Wheel- 
ing, on the Ohio, in 1820, and was carried beyond that stream during 
Mr. Adams' administration, the design being to extend it to the Missis- 
sippi. It furnished a broad and well-built thoroughfare between the 
seaboard and the west, and exerted a marked influence upon the internal 
trade of the country. The road from Cumberland to Wheeling cost 
$1,700,000. - 

The Erie canal, extending from Buffalo on Lake Erie to the HudsoB 
at Albany, was projected by De Witt Clinton. The plan was at first 
pronounced impracticable, but Clinton succeeded in inducing the State of 
New York to undertake the scheme, and in 1825 the great work M^as 
completed, and the waters of the lakes and the Hudson were united. 
The completion of this canal secured to the city of New York the con- 
trol of the western trade, and added to its wealth and importance in a 
marked degree. 

Steam had been for some years in use as the motive power in the navi- 
gation of the rivers of the Union, and it now began to be applied to 
purposes of land transportation. The first railroad in this country was a 
mere tramway, for the transportation of granite from the quarries at 
Quincy to the Neponsett river, in Massachusetts, and was constructed in 
the year 1826. This was followed by the Mauch Chunk railway, from 
the coal mines to the Lehigh river, in Pennsylvania, in 1827. These 
were merely local works, and of but little importance, except in so far as 
they helped to demonstrate to the public mind the possibility and the 
usefulness of such enterprises upon a larger scale. Charters for roads of 
more importance were soon obtained in several of the States. In 1828 
work was begun on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and in 1829 on the 
South Carolina railroad. In the year 1827 there were three miles of 
railroad in operation in the United States. In 1875 the number of miles 
in operation is a little over seventy thousand. 

For some time previous to the entrance of Mr. Adams upon office, 
Georgia had been involved in a dispute with the general government and 
wnth the Creek Indians concerning the lands of the latter, which the 
United States had agreed to purchase for the benefit of Georgia. Twenty- 
five years passed after the promise was made, and the lands remained 
42 



658 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

unpurchased because the Indians would not sell them. A treaty was 
finally made in 1825 by Ayhich some of the chiefs ceded to the general 
goyernmcnt the lands in question. The majority of the Indians declared 
the chief's had no authority to enter into this treaty, and called upon the 
United States to repudiate it. It was cancelled by the general govern- 
ment, but the State of Georgia determined to enforce it. The general 
government took the side of the Indians, and for a while it seemed that 
an open conflict would ensue between the State and federal authorities. 
The matter was settled by the Creeks consenting to sell their lands and to 
accept new homes in the Ayest. The Indian lands were purchased by the 
United States, and the Creeks emigrated beyond the Mississippi. 

On the 4th of July, 1826, died, within a few hours of each other, two 
ex -presidents of the republic: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson ; the 
latter the author of the Declaration of Independence, and the former its 
most efficient supporter. Mr. Adams died at his home at Quincy, Mas- 
sachusetts, at the ripe old age of ninety years ; Mr. Jefferson at Monti- 
cello, his beautiful Virginian home, at the age of eighty-two. Both had 
filled the highest stations in the republic, and both had lived to see the 
country they loved take rank among the first nations of the globe. They 
died on the fiftieth annivei-sary of American independence. 

In the year 1826 a new party made its appearance in our politics. A 
man named William Morgan, residing in the western part of Nev/ York, 
published a book purporting to reveal the secrets of the order of Free- 
masons. He suddenly disappeared, and it was charged that he had been 
seized and murdered by the Freemasons in revenge for his exposures. 
The affair caused great excitement in the Northern and some of the 
Western States, and gave rise to a political party known as the Anti- 
Masons, whose avowed object was the exclusion of Masons from office. 
It acquired considerable strength in some of the States, but in a few years 
died out. 

The tariff question now engaged the attention of the country once 
more. The manufacturing interests were still struggling against foreign 
competition, and it was the opinion of the Eastern and Middle States 
that the general government should protect them by the imposition of 
high duties upon products of foreign countries imported into the Union. 
The south was almost a unit in its opposition to a high tariff. Being, as 
we have said, an agricultural section, its interests demanded a free 
market, and it wished to avail itself of the privilege of purchasing where 
it could buy cheapest. The south and the west were the markets- of the 
east, and the interests of that section demanded the exclusion of foreign 
competition in supplying these markets. 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF MONROE AND J. Q. ADAMS. 



659 



In July, 1827, a convention of manufacturers was held at Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania, and a memorial was adopted praying Congress to increase 
the duties on foreign goods to an extent which would protect American 
industry. When Congress met in December, 1827, the protective policy 
was the most important topic of the day. It was warmly discussed in 
Congress and throughout the country. The interests of New England 
were championed by the matchless eloquence of Daniel Webster, who 
claimed that as the adoption of the protective policy by the government 
had forced New England to turn her energies to 
manufacturers, the government was bound to pro- 
tect her against competition. The southern rep- 
resentatives argued that a protective tariff was 
unconstitutional, and was injurious in its operations 
to the interests of the people of the Southern States, 
who, being producers of staples for export, ought to 
have liberty to purchase such articles as they needed 
wherever they could find them cheapest. They de- 
clared that "duties under the protective policy were 
not only bounties to manufacturers, but a heavy tax 
levied upon their constituents and a great majority of the consumers in 
all the States, which never went into the public treasury." The tariff 
bill was passed by the House on the 15th of April, 1828, and was 
approved by the president a little later. It was termed by its oppo- 
nents the "Bill of Abominations." 

In the midst of this excitement the presidential election occurred. Mr. 
Adams was a candidate for re-election, but was overwhelmingly defeated 
by Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee. John C. Calhoun was chosen Vice- 
President. The election of Jackson was regarded as a popular condem- 
nation of the protective policy of the government. 




DANIEL WEBST£,B. 




CHAPTER XXXy. 

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF ANDREW JACKSON AND MARTIN 

VAN BUREN. 

Character of Andrew Jackson — Indian Policy of this Administration — The President 
Vetoes the Bill to Renew the Charter of the United States Bank — Debate between 
Hayne and Webster — Jackson's Quarrel with Calhoun — Death of ex-President Monroe 
— The Cholera — Black Hawk's War — Ee-election of President Jackson — The TarifT— 
Action of South Carolina — The Nullification Ordinance — Firmness of the President — 
The Matter settled by Compromise — Patriotism of Henry Clay — The Removal of the 
Deposits — The Seminole War begun — Great Fire in New York — Settlement of the 
Fren9h Claims — Arkansas admitted into the Union — The National Debt Paid — Death 
of ex- President Madison — Martin Van Buren elected President — Michigan admitted 
into the Union — The Panic of 1837 — Causes of it — Suspension of Specie Payments — 
Great Distress throughout the Union — The Sub-Treasury — Repudiation of State Debts 
— The Canadian Rebellion — The President's Course — The Seminole War ended — The 
Anti-Slavery Party — Resolutions of Congress respecting Slavery — William Henry 
Harrison elected President — The Sixth Census. 

' NDREW JACKSON, the seventh president of the United States, 
was inaugurated at Washington, on the 4th of March, 1829. 

President Jackson was in many respects one of the most re- 
markable men of his day. He was of Scotch-Irish descent, and 
was born in North Carolina during the controversy between the 
colonies and Great Britain, which preceded the revolution. He was left 
fatherless at an early age, and his youth Avas passed amid the stirring 
scenes of the war for independence. At the age of thirteen he began his 
career by taking part in the fight at Hanging Rock, under General 
Sumter. The home of the Jacksons was broken up and pillaged by the 
Tories, and the mother and her two sons became wanderers. The sons 
were shortly after made prisoners by the Tories, and the day after his 
capture Andrew Jackson was ordered by a British officer to clean his 
boots. He indignantly refused, and the officer struck him with the flat 
of his sword. The boys were at length exchanged through the exertions 
of their mother. Both had contracted the small-pox during their cap- 
tivity, and the elder son soon died of his disease. Not long afterwards 
Mrs. Jackson, with some other ladies, went to Charleston to minister to 
the wants of the American prisoners of war confined there by the British. 
660 




ADMINISTRATIONS OF JACKSON AND VAN BUREN. 



661 



A fever was raging among these unfortunates at the time, and Mrs. Jack- 
son was soon numbered among its victims. Thus, at the age of fifteen, 
Andrew Jackson was left alone in the world without a relative. Though 
young in years, he had been greatly matured in character by his trials. 
Even at this early age he was generous to a fault to his friends, and 
immovable in his resolutions when once formed. 

A few years later he removed to Tennessee, then a Territory, and upon 
the admission of the State into the Union was elected as her first repre- 
sentative in Congress. His services during the war of 1812-15 have 
been related. His brilliant victory over the British at New Orleans 
made him one of the most noted men of the day, and his prompt and 
decisive measures against the Spaniards in Florida during Mr. Monroe's 
administration greatly added to his reputation. 

During the administration of John Adams General Jackson occupied 
a seat in the United States Senate, and 
gave a cordial support to the principles of 
Mr. Jefferson. Hesigning his seat in the 
Senate before the close of his term, he 
Mas elected one of the judges of the 
supreme court of Tennessee. 

The election of General Jackson to the 
jiresidency was regarded with some anxiety, 
for though his merits as a soldier were 



conceded, it was feared by many that his 
known imperiousness of will and his in- 
flexibility of purpose would seriously dis- 
qualify him for the delicate duties of the andbew jackson. 
presidency. Nature had made him a ruler, 

however, and his administration was marked by the fearless energy that 
characterized every act of his life, and was on the whole successful and 
satisfactory to the great majority of his countrymen. 

General Jackson began his administration by appointing a new cabinet, 
at the head of which he placed Martin Van Buren, of New York, as 
secretary of state. Until now the postmaster-general had not been 
regarded as a cabinet officer. General Jackson now invited that officer 
to a seat in his cabinet and a share in its deliberations, and his course has 
since been pursued by each and all of his successors. 

The first important act of the new president was to recommend to 
Congress the removal of all the Indian tribes remaining east of the 
Mississippi to new homes west of that stream. Such a measure, he con- 
tended, would give to them a broader range, and one more suited to their 




6G2 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



■wants, and would relieve the States east of the Mississippi from all 
further apprehension of Indian wars. This removal involved consider- 
able loss and hardship to the Creeks in Georgia, who had made an 
encouraging advance in civilization. X bill M^as passed by the Twenty- 
first Congress in ^lay, 1830, for the purpose of carrying this policy into 
effect ; but the removal of the Indians was not completed for some years 
afterwards. 

In his first annual message to Congress, in 1829, the president took 
strong ground against the renewal of the charter of the Bank of the 





STATE-HOUSE, AT RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA. 



United States, which was about to expire. This was a bold step, as the 
bank was the most powerful institution in the United States, and had 
warm friends in every })art of the country. The stockholders of the 
bank ap})llcd to the Twenty-second Congress during its first session, 
which began in December, 1831, for a renewal of their charter, and in 
the late spring of 1832 a bill renewing tiiis charter was passed by both 
Houses of Congrass. The president refused to sign the bill, and returned 
it to Congress with his objections. He held that Congress had no con- 
stitutional power to charter such a bank, and regarded it as inexpedient 



ADMINISTBATIONS OF JACKSON AND VAN BUREN. 663 

to continue its existence. An effort was made by the friends of the bill 
to pass it over the president's veto, but it failed to obtain the necessary- 
two-thirds vote, and consequently did not become a law. The bank was 
therefore obliged to suspend its operations at the expiration of its charter 
in 1836. 

In 1830 Senator Foot, of Connecticut, submitted a resolution of 
inquiry to the Senate concerning the disposal of the public lands. The 
debate upon the resolution extended far beyond the subject embraced in 
that document, and in the course of it Senator Robert Y. Hayne, of 




STATE-HOUSB, CONCOBD, NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



South Carolina, a brilliant orator, declared that any State had the right, 
in the exercise of its sovereign power, to declare null and void any act of 
Cono-ress which it should consider unconstitutional. This was a plain 
statement of the doctrine that the Union was simply a compact between 
the States, from which any of the States could secede at pleasure, and it 
was the first time such a sentiment had been expressed on the floor of 
Cont^ress. Mr. Webster, of Massachusetts, replied to Mr. Hayne, in an 
oration of superb eloquence. He denied the doctrine that the Union was 
a compact of sovereign, independent States, from which any one of them 



664 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



could withdraw at pleasure; and argued that the constitution was the 
work of the people themselves, not as separate States, but as members of 
a great nation, and was designed to make the Union perpetual ; that the 
controversies between the States and the general government were to be 
decided by the supreme court, the tribunal created for that purpose by 
the constitution, and not by the States themselves ; and that any attempt 
on the part of the people of a State to withdraw from the Union was 
treason. The debate added greatly to the fame of both senators, and the 
sentiments of Mr. Webster were unanimously re-echoed by the north, and 




SCENE IN THE MAMMOTH CAVE, KENTUCKY. 



by a large majority at the south. The effect of the debate was to direct 
the attention of the people to a study of the principles of the constitution. 
Diffcr(!nt views were maintained. The Northern and AVestern States 
regarded the Union as indissoluble, while the Southern States held that 
it was a compact of sovereign States, and that any State could withdraw 
from the Union for just cause. 

During the session of the Twenty-first Congress a breach occurred 
between President Jackson and Mr. Calhoun, tlio vice-president. The 
former was told for the first time that Mr. Calhoun, while a member of 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF JACKSON AND VAN BUREN. 



665 



Mr. Monroe's cabinet, had endeavored to prevent the government frora 
sustaining him in his invasion of Florida in 1818. General Jackson 
deeply resented this, and the breach between himself and Mr. Calhoun 
widened daily. Shortly afterwards Mr. Calhoun resigned the vice-presi- 
dency, and was elected to the Senate by the legislature of South Carolina 
in 1831. In the same year Mr. Clay was elected to the Senate from 
Kentucky. 

On the 4th of July, 1831, ex-President Monroe died in New York, in 
the 74th year of his age. 

In June, 1832, the Asiatic cholera made its first appearance in the 
United States, and swept with fearful rapidity over the whole country. 
Thousands of persons of all ages and conditions died of it within a few 
mouths, and a feeling of general terror pervaded the country. Its prin- 




GENERAL ATKINSON'S DEFEAT OF BLACK HAWK. 

cipal ravages occurred in the Northern States and in the valley of th ) 
Mississippi. 

In the spring of 1832 the Sacs and Foxes, and some other tribes of 
Indians, inhabiting the region now known as Wisconsin, made incursions 
against the frontier settlements of Illinois. General Atkinson was sent 
by the general government with a force of troops to crush them, and 
with the assistance of the militia, after a series of skirmishes, drove them 
beyond the Mississippi. Black Hawk, a chief of the Sac nation, and the 
leader of the movement, was taken prisoner. He was kindly treated, and 
to impress him Avith the folly of attacking a great nation, he was taken 
to Washington, and then to the principal eastern cities, that he might see 
for himself the power of the whites. 

Early in 1831 General Jackson was nominated for a re-election to the 



666 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

jDresidency by the legislature of Pennsylvania. The presidential election 
took jilace in the fall of 1832. General Jackson was supported by the 
Democratic party, and Mr. Clay by the AVhigs, for the presidency. The 
contest was marked by intense bitterness, for Jackson's veto of the 
charter of the Bank of the United States, his other vetoes of public im- 
provement bills, and his attitude in the " Nullification " controversy 
between the United States and South Carolina, had created a powerful 
opposition to him in all parts of the country. In spite of this opposition 
he was re-elected by a triumphant majority, and Martin Van Buren, of 
New York, the Democratic nominee, was chosen vice-president. 

In the meantime serious trouble had arisen between the general gov- 
ernment and the State of South Carolina. During the year 1832 the 
tariff was revised by Congress, and that body, instead of diminishing the 
duties, increased many of them. This action gave great offence to the 
Southern States, which regarded the denial of free trade as a great wrong 
to them. They were Avilling to submit to a tariff sufficient for a revenue, 
but were utterly opposed to a protective tariff for the reasons we have 
already stated. The States of Virginia, Georgia, and South Carolina 
were the most energetic in their opposition to the measure, but the first 
two, upon its passage, submitted to it, hoping to carry out their wishes 
by constitutional means at some future time. 

The State of South Carolina,, holding the views advocated by Mr. 
Hayne in the Senate, in his debate with Mr. AVebster, resolved to " nul- 
lify " the law within its own limits. A convention of the people of the 
State was held, ^\•hich adopted a measure knoM'u as the " Nullification 
Ordinance." This ordinance declared that the tariff act of 1832, being 
based upon the principle of protection, and not upon the principle of 
raising revenue, was unconstitutional, and was therefore null and void. 
Provision was made by another clause for testing the constitutionality of 
the law before the courts of the State. The State assumed the right to 
forbid the collection of the duties imposed by the tariff within its limits ; 
and if the general government should resist the course of the State by 
force, the State of South Carolina was declared to be no longer a member 
of the Union. This ordinance was to take effect on the 12th of February, 
1833, unless in the meantime the general government should abandon its 
policy of protection and return to a tariff for revenue only. 

Matters had reached this state when the presidential election occurred 
in the fall of 1832. The country at large was utterly opposed to the 
course of South Carolina, and denied its right to nullify a law of Con- 
gress, or to withdraw from the Union in support of this right. Intense 
excitement prevailed, and the course of the president was watched with 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF JACKSON AND VAN BUREN. 007 

the gravest anxiety. He was known to be opposed to the protective 
policy ; but it was generally believed that he was firm in his intention to 
enforce the laws, however he might disapprove of them. 

Congress met in December, 1832, and in his annual message President 
Jackson urged upon that body a reduction of the tariff. The message 
gave great satisfaction to the opijonents of the tariff. A few days later 
the president issued a proclamation against nullification, moderate in lan- 
guage, but firm in tone. He expressed his opinion that the course of 
South Carolina was unlawful and wrong, and intimated that he would 
exert the power intrusted to him to compel obedience to the constitution 
and laws of the Union. He appealed to the people of South Carolina 
not to persist in the enforcement of their ordinance, as such a course on 
their part must inevitably bring them in collision with the forces of the 
federal government ; and told them plainly that any citizen of any of 
the States who should take up arms against the United States in such a 
conflict would be guilty of treason against the United 
States. Referring to the action of the convention, he 
said : " This ordinance is founded, not on the inde- 
feasible right of resisting acts which are plainly un- 
constitutional, and too oppressive to be endured ; but 
on the strange position that any one State may not ^^ 
only declare an act of Congress void, but prohibit 
its execution; that they may do this consistently 
with the constitution ; that the true construction of 
that instrument permits a State to retain its place jqhn c. caliioun. 
in the Union, and yet be bound by no other of 
its laws than those it may choose to consider as constitutional." 

The leaders of the South Carolina movement were Governor Hayne 
and John C. Calhoun, then a senator of the United States from South 
Carolina. Governor Hayne replied to the president with a counter proc- 
lamation, in which he warned the people of the State against " the dan- 
gerous and pernicious doctrines" of the president's proclamation, and 
called upon them to disregard "those vain menaces" of military force, 
and " to be fully prepared to sustain the dignity and protect the liberties 
of the State, if need be, with their lives and fortunes." The State pre- 
pared to maintain its position by force. Troops were organized, and 
arms and military stores were collected. 

The president, on his part, took measures promptly to enforce the law. 
He ordered a large body of troops to assemble at Charleston, under 
General Scott, and a ship of war was sent to that port to assist the fed- 
eral officers in collecting the duties on imports. Civil war seemed for a 




QQS HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

time inevitable. The president was firmly resolved to compel the sub- 
mission of South Carolina, and to cause the arrest of Mr. Calhoun and 
the other leading nullifiers, and bring them to trial for treason. The 
issue of such a conflict could not be doubtful. 

Fortunately a peaceful settlement of the trouble was effected. Mr. 
Yerplanck, of New York, a supporter of the administration, introduced 
a bill into Congress for a reduction of the tariif, and the State of Vir- 
ginia sent Benjamin AYatkins Leigh, a distinguished citizen, as commis- 
sioner to South Carolina, to urge her to suspend the execution of her 
ordinance until March 4th, as there was a probability that a peaceful 
settlement of the difficulty would be arranged before that time. South 
Carolina consented to be guided by this appeal. 

Henry Clay, with his usual patriotic self-sacrifice, now came forward 
in the Senate with a compromise which he hoped would put an end to 
the trouble. He was an ardent advocate of the protective system, but he 
was prepared to sacrifice it to the welfare of the 
country. He introduced a bill providing for the 
gradual reduction in ten years of all duties then 
above the revenue standard. "One-tenth of one- 
half of all the duties for protection above that stan- 
dard was to be taken off annually for ten years, at 
the end of which period the whole of the other half 
was to be taken off, and tlicreafter all duties were 
to be levied mainly with a view to revenue and not 
iiENKY CJ.VY. ^'^^^ protection." This measure with some modifica- 
tions was adopted by both Houses of Congress, and 
was approved by the president on the 2d of March, 1833. The people 
of Soutii Carolina rescinded their "Nullification Ordinance," and the 
trouble was brought to an end.* 

It was generally believed that the Union had escaped from a grave 
peril. The firmness of the president received the approval of the nation, 
except in South Carolina. The action of that State was generally con- 
demned, and the result was looked upon as a decided triumph of the 
national authority. 

* "Mr. Clay, on this occasion," says Hon. Alexander II. Stephens, "had to break with 
his old political friends, while he was offering up the darling sy.stem of his heart upon the 
altar of his country. "Whatever else may be said of him, no one can deny that Henry Clay 
was a patriot — every inch of him — a patriot of the highest standard. It was said that when 
he was importuned not to take the course he had resolved upon, for the reason amongst 
others that it would lessen his chances for the presidency, his reply wa.s, 'I would rather 
be right than be president.' Tiiis showed the material he was made of. It was worthy a 
Marcellus or Cato." — The War Between the State.% vol. i., p. 438. 




ADMINISTRATIONS OF JACKSON AND VAN BUREN. 669 

On the 4th of March, 1833, General Jackson entered upon his second 
term of office. The troubles which had disquieted the country had been 
satisfactorily settled, and the president took advantage of the peaceful 
condition of affairs to visit New York and the New England States. 
He was received everywhere with enthusiasm. 

Upon his return to the capital, the president took a step which plunged 
the country into great excitement once more. The charter of the Bank 
of the United States made that institution the legal depository of the 
funds of the United States. The secretary of the treasury, with the 
sanction of Congress, alone had authority to remove them. The president 
was of the opinion that the public funds were not safe in the keeping of 
the bank, and announced his intention to remove them from the Bank 
of the United States and deposit them with certain State banks. The 
majority of the cabinet were opposed to the measure, and the secretary 
of the treasury, William J. Duane, when ordered by the president to 
withdraw the funds, refused to obey him, as he considered the president's 
course " unnecessary, unwise, arbitrary, and unjust." He was at once 
removed from his position by President Jackson, who appointed Roger 
B. Taney, of Maryland, in his place. Mr. Taney issued an order to the 
collectors, forbidding them to deposit the public moneys paid to them in 
the Bank of the United States. As for the funds already in the possession 
of the bank, it was decided to withdraw them as they were needed for the 
payment of the current expenses of the government. This measure was 
productive of great financial distress throughout the Union, which con- 
tinued for some time. 

The president's course also produced open war between himself and 
the Senate, in which body he was opposed by Clay, Calhoun, and "Web- 
ster, its foremost members. He was defended by Benton, of Missouri, 
and Forsyth, of Georgia, but in spite of their efforts a resolution declar- 
ing the president's course unconstitutional, and severely censuring him 
for it, was adopted by the Senate. The president remained firm, how- 
ever. He submitted an able protest against the action of the Senate, and 
by the help of the House of Representatives defeated the bank on every 
point. The Senate subsequently recognized the propriety of the presi- 
dent's action, and of its own motion expunged the resolution of censure 
from its journal. 

In pursuance of its policy towards the Indians, the government 
attempted in 1835 to remove the Seminoles from Florida beyond the 
Mississippi. They were unwilling to relinquish their lands ; and under 
the leadership of their great chief, Osceola, opposed a determined resist- 
ance to the efforts of the general government. Major Dade, with one 



670 



HISTORY OF THE UXITED STATES. 



hundred and seventeen men, was sent from Tampa bay to the assistance 
of General Clinch at Fort Drane, which was threatened by the Indians. 
He was attacked on tlie 28th of December, 1835, while on the march 
and he and all but four of his men were massacred. On the same day 
another blow was struck at Fort King, many miles away from the scene 
of this massacre. Mr. Thompson, the Indian commissioner, and a party 
of his friends, while dining outside of the walls of the fort, were attacked 
by a band of Seminoles, led by Osceola in person, and killed and scalped. 




GREAT FIRE IN KEW YORK. 



General Clinch at once took the field against the savages, and on the 31st 
of December defeated them at Withlacooche, ninety miles north of 
Tampa bay. In February, 1836, General Gaines won an important 
victory over the savages i^.ear the same ])lace. 

The Creeks joined the Seminoles in May, 1836, and the war spread 
into Georgia. The former were soon crushed by the United States troops, 
and were sent Avest of the Mississippi. The Seminoles continual the war, 
and as often as they were defeated in the open field would take refuge in 
the swam|)s and everglades, where it was difficult for the whites to follow 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF JACKSON AND VAN BUREN. 671 

tlicm, and from which they maintained a constant and effective warfare 
upon their enemies. Osceola was always ready to make a treaty, and 
never laesitated to break it. At last he was conquered by his own weapon 
of deceit. In October, 1837, he came into the American camp under a 
flag of truce. He was at once seized, with all his followers, by General 
Jessup, the American commander. Osceola was sent as a prisoner to 
Fort Moultrie, in South Carolina, where he died of a fever. The war 
went on for several years longer. 

The winter of 1834-35 was one of the coldest ever known in America. 
The Chesapeake bay was frozen from its head to the Capes, and on the 
8th of February, 1835, the mercury stood at eight degrees below zero as 
far south as Charleston. On the 4th of January the mercury congealed 
at Lebanon, New York. On the night of December 16, 1835, a fire broke 
out in the city of New York, and in fourteen hours consumed the 
greater part of the business portion 
of the city, and destroyed over 
$17,000,000 worth of property. 

In the last years of his adminis- 
tration President Jackson brought 
to a successful close a vexatious dis- 
pute with France, which had long; 

■*• ' O COAT OF ARMS OF ARKANSAS. 

been a source of annoyance to the 

country. American merchants held claims to the amount of $5,000,000 
against France for the " unlaAvful seizures, captures, and destruction of 
vessels and cargoes" during the wars of Napoleon. The government of 
Louis Philippe acknowledged the justice of these claims, and in 1831 a 
treaty was negotiated between the United States and France for their 
payment. The Chamber of Deputies refused three times during as many 
years to appropriate the money for the payment of these claims, and in 
1 834 President Jackson ordered the United States minister at Paris to 
demand his passports, and advised Congress to make reprisals on French 
vessels. This vigorous course brought France to her senses, and at this 
juncture Great Britain offered her mediation for the settlement of the 
difficulty. The Chamber of Deputies appropriated the necessary sum, 
and the American claims were paid and the matter settled to the satisfac- 
tion of all parties. 

Claims for similar seizures were brought against Spain, Naples, and 
Denmark, and were satisfactorily settled through the firmness of the 
president. Treaties of friendship and commerce were negotiated with 
Eussia and Turkey. 

On the 15th of June, 1836, Arkansas waLs admitted into the Union as 
a State. 




672 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




COAT OF ARMS OF MICHIOAN. 



One of tlie most important acts of General Jackson's administration 
was the payment of the national debt. He not only left the nation free 
from debt, but handed over to his successor a surplus of forty millions 
of dollars in the national treasury. • 

On the 28th of June, 1836, ex-President James Madison died at 
Montpelier, his home, in Virginia, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. 

The presidential election was held in the fall of 1836. General Jack- 
son having declined to be a candidate for a third term, the Democratic 

party supported Martin Van Buren 
for President, and Richard M. 
Johnson, of Kentucky, for Vice- 
President. Mr. Van Buren was 
elected by a large majority ; but 
the electors having failed to make 
a choice of a candidate for vice- 
president, that task devolved upon 
the Senate, which elected Colonel Richard M. Jolmson by a majority of 
seventeen votes. 

On the 26th of January, 1837, Michigan was admitted into the Union 
as a State, making the twenty -sixth mem- 
ber of the confederacy. The original thir- 
teen States had been doubled in number, 
and the Union was strong at home, and 
respected abroad. 

At the close of his term General Jack- 
son retired from public life, and passed the 
remainder of his days at his beautiful 
home, near Nashville, in Tennessee, which 
he had named the " Hermitage." He had 
conducted one of the most remarkable 
administrations in our history, and one 
of the most successful, and had shown 
himself to be an earnest, incorruptible, 
and self-sacrificing patriot, and a man of 
unbending honesty and of extraordinary energy and inflexibility of 
purpose. 

Martin Van Buren, the new president, entered upon the duties of his 
office on the 4th of ]\Iarch, 1837. He was in his fifty-fifth year, and 
had occupied many distinguished positions in public life. He had repre- 
sented the State of New York in the Senate of the United States, and 
had been governor of that State. He had been minister to England, had 




MAKTIN VAN BUREN. 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF JACKSON AND VAN BUREN 673 

been made secretary of state at the commencement of General Jackson's 
first term, and had been elected vice-president of the United States at 
the period of Jackson's re-election. 

The extraordinary prosperity which had prevailed throughout the 
nation during the last year of Jackson's term came to a sudden end 
almost immediately after the inauguration of Mr. Van Buren. For some 
time past a reckless spirit of speculation had engrossed the nation, and 
had led to excessive banking, and the issuing of paper money to an 
extent far beyond the necessities of the country. The State banks, with 
which the public funds had been deposited by President Jackson, sup- 
posed they would be able to control these funds for an indefinite period, 




MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, IN 1875. 

as the revenue of the government was largely in excess of its expenses ; 
and they made loans freely, and upon not the best securities, in all cases. 
Few of the new banks which sprang into existence had enough gold and 
silver in their vaults to redeem the notes with which they flooded the 
country. Fictitious values prevailed in every department of trade, and 
the banks vied with each other in affording the means for the wildest 
speculations. 

In the midst of this excitement two acts of the general government 
brought matters to a crisis. The speculation mania had extended to the 
public lands, and in order to restrain it within manageable bounds Presi- 
dent Jackson caused the secretary of the treasury to issue an order to the 
43 



674 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

collectors at the local offices to receive only gold and silver in payments 
for land. This order was generally known as the "Specie Circular." In 
the summer of 183G a law was passed by Congress requiring the president 
to distribute among the States the funds on deposit in the banks. This 
was an unexpected measure to the banks, and forced them to call in their 
loans to meet the withdrawal of the government funds. The operations 
of the " Specie Circular " at the same time sent large quantities of their 
notes back to them to be redeemed in coin. This complication of diffi- 
culties brought them at once to the end of their resources, and they were 
rendered powerless to extend their usual facilities to their customers. 
The result was that the business of the country was thrown into a state 
of hopeless confusion, and by the spring of 1837 the failures in New 
York alone amounted to one hundred million dollars. All parts of the 
country were affected by the financial troubles, and in New Orleans the 
failures amounted to twenty-seven million dollars. 

Petitions were addressed to the president from all parts of the Union, 
praying him to take some steps to relieve the general distress, and in 
May a deputation of merchants and bankers from New York waited ^ 
upon President Van Buren, and urged him to postpone the immediate 
collection of duties for which merchants had given bonds, to withdraw 
the treasury orders requiring sums due the United States to be paid in 
gold and silver, and to convene Congress in extra session for the jiurpose 
of devising measures of relief. The president complied with their request 
to suspend the collection of duties for which bonds had been given, but 
declined to take the other steps asked of him. "Within a few days after 
his answer was known the banks of New York suspended specie pay- 
ments, and their example Avas followed by the rest of the banks 
throughout tlie Union. 

The distress of the country Avas very great. Hundreds of thousands 
of laborers were thrown out of employment, and business of all kinds 
was at a standstill. The government, which, a few months before, had 
been out of debt, and in possession of a surplus of forty millions, now 
found itself unable to provide funds for its ordinary expenses. The 
president was compelled to summon an extra session of Congress, which 
met on the 4th of September, 1837. The president in his message 
attributed the embarrassed condition of the countr}^' to the excessive issues 
of bank notes, the great fire in New York in 1835, and the reckless 
speculations of the ]>eople for several years past. He suggested no special 
legislation for the relief of these troubles, as he regarded such a course 
as beyond the constitutional authority of the general government. Indeed 
the government could do but little to restore public confidence; that was 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF JACKSON AND VAN BUREN. 



675 



the task of therpeople themselves, and it was not accomplished for several 
years. To meet the necessities of the government, and provide a leo-al 
currency. Congress, at the recommendation of the president, issued treas- 
ury notes to the amount of ten millions of dollars. Another recom- 
mendation of the president did not give such general satisfaction. The 
president advised the creation of an independent treasury for the public 
funds, as a means of avoiding the risks assumed by the government in 
depositing its funds in the banks. These treasuries were to be located at 
certain central points, and the sub-treasurers were to be appointed by the 
president, and were to give bonds for the proper fulfilment of their 




EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA. 



duties. The president believed that the adoption of this measure would 
withdraw large sums of money from active circulation and so put a stop 
to speculation. The bill for the creation of the independent treasury 
was warmly opposed in and out of Congress, as it was feared by many 
that the withdrawal of so much gold and silver from circulation would 
seriously injure the business of the country. Mr. Calhoun supported 
the measure with all his great abilities, and Mr. Clay and Mr. Webster 
opposed it. Tho measure failed at the extra session, but became a law 



676 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

in 1840. In 1841 it was repealed, and in 1846 was re-enacted. It is 
still in force, and its wisdom and usefulness are now generally admitted. 

The spirit of speculation had extended to the State governments as well 
as to private individuals, and State bonds had been issued to the amount 
of one hundred million dollars. The pretext for this excessive increase 
of debt was the necessity of raising funds to carry out their system of in- 
ternal improvements. The panic involved the States in its effects, and 
eight of them found themselves unable in 1838 to ])ay the interest on 
their bonds. In course of time they made good their obligations, but the 
State of Mississippi and the Territory of Florida not only refused to pay 
the interest on their bonds, but repudiated their debts. The sale of their 
bonds had been made principally in Europe, and their repudiation of 
their debts aroused great indignation on the other side of the Atlantic, 
and brought disgrace upon the whole nation. The effects of this were 
seen a few years later, Avhen the United States sought to negotiate a 
national loan in Europe. Not a bond could be sold or a dollar obtained 
there. 

In 1837 a movement M-as made by the people of Canada to throw off 
their connection with Great Britain, and to establish their independence. 
It aroused the sympathies of a large number of the people of the United 
States, and in northern New York associations called "Hunters' 
Lodges " were formed for the purpose of aiding the Canadian patriots. 
The president of the United States and the governor of New York 
endeavored to suppress these illegal associations, but without success. 

A body of seven hundred Canadians and American sympathizers took 
possession of Navy island in the Niagara river. The island is a part of 
Canada, and lies near the shore of that country. The force on the island 
employed the steamboat "Caroline" to convey men and provisions from 
the town of Schlosser on the American shore to the island. The British 
authorities in Canada determined to destroy the boat. One dark night 
in December, 1837, a detachment from Canada was sent to Navy island 
for this purpose. Not finding the " Caroline " there, they Avent over to 
Schlosser, where she was moored at her dock. The boat was captured 
after a ; hort struggle in which one American was killed, and was carried 
out into tlie stream and set on fire. She drifted down to the falls, and 
plunged over them in a blaze. The British minister at Washington at 
once declared the responsibility of his government for the capture of the 
boat, and justified it on the ground of self-defence. 

In the meantime the president had sent General Wool with a strong 
force to the Canadian border with orders to prevent any expedition from 
leaving this country to aid the Canadians. He compelled the force oa 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF JACKSON AND VAN BUREN. 677 

Navy island to surrender, but the border war continued until the close 
of 1838, when it was put down. 

In 1840 the question was to some extent revived. Alexander McLeod, 
a British subject residing in Canada, boasted that he had been engaged in 
the capture of the " Caroline," and had killed the American who fell in 




EAFTING LUMBER IN MAINE. 



that conflict. Shortly afterwards he visited the New York side of the 
river, and was at once arrested upon a charge of murder by the authori- 
ties of that State. The British government demanded his unconditional 
release on the ground that he had simply obeyed the orders of his gov- 
ernment, which was alone responsible for his act. The general govern- 
ment of the United States also demanded the surrender of McLeod to the 
Federal authorities. The State of New York, however, held that the 
offence with which McLeod was charged had been committed on her 
soil, and brought the prisoner to trial. As he succeeded in proving that 



678 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



he was not engaged in, or present at the attack, he was acquitted. This 
conflict between the federal and State authority led to the passage by 
Congress of a law requiring similar offences to be tried before the United 
States courts. 

In the midst of the Canadian controversy a quarrel sprang up between 
the State of Maine and the British province of New Brunswick, concern- 
ing the northeast boundary of the United States. Both parties prepared 
for a conflict, but the president sent General Scott to the scene of danger, 
and he, by his moderation and firmness, succeeded in maintaining peace 
until the mutter could be settled by treaty. 

The war with the Seminole Indians in Florida continued through the 




BATTLE OF OKEECHOBEE. 



whole of this administration. The capture and death of Osceola, which 
we liave related, though a severe blow to his followers, did not dishearten 
them. On the 25th of December, 1838, Colonel Zachary Taylor in- 
flicted a severe defeat upon the Indians at Lake Okeechobee. The war 
was at length brought to an end in 1842, but not until it had lasted seven 
years, and had cost many valuable lives and the enormous sum of nearly 
forty million dollars. The Seminolcs were subdued, and were removed 
from Florida to new homes beyond the Mississippi. 

The Missouri Compromise did not quiet the agitation of the slavery 
question. It gave to the country only a momentary respite. The Anti- 
slavery or Abolition party had noAv become one of the recognized political 
organizations of the country. Its avowed object was the abolition of 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF JACKSON AND VAN BUREN. 679 

slavery in every State in which it existed. It was argued in opposition 
to their principles that the constitution recognized and protected slavery 
in the States in which it existed; but they met this assertion by the bold 
declaration that they would continue their agitation until they had de- 
stroyed either slavery or the Union. They did not wish to live under a 
constitution which protected slavery, and which one of their principal 
leaders denounced as " a covenant with death, and an agreement with 
hell." The body embraced the extreme Anti-slavery men of the north. 
Among its adversaries were some of the sincercst opponents of slavery, 
who hoped to accomplish their ends by constitutional means and by the 
influences of a better and more enlightened public opinion, and who 
deprecated and opposed the violence of the extreme Abolitionists. The 
leader of the ultra party in Congress was John Quincy Adams, who had 
been returned to the House of Representatives from Massachusetts in 
1831. Memorials were presented to Congress praying the abolition of 
slavery in the District of Columbia, and gave rise to exciting debates in 
that body, which affected the whole country profoundly, and did much to 
widen the breach between the Northern and Southern States. This 
agitation continued through the whole of Mr. Van Buren's term of 
office. Early in the session of 1838-39, Mr. Atherton, of New Haihp- 
shire, offered a series of resolutions expressing the relations of the general 
government towards the States, and declaring the inability of Congress to 
interfere with slavery in those States in which it already existed, or in 
the District of Columbia, or the Territories. These resolutions were 
adopted by the House by decisive majorities, and were regarded by Mr. 
Clay and by the leading public men of the country as effectually dis- 
posing of the troublesome question as far as the general government was 
concerned. The resolutions were as follows : 

"Resolved, That this government is a government of limited powers, and that by the 
constitution of the United States, Congress has no jurisdiction wliatever over the institution 
of slavery in the several States of the confederacy." 

The vote upon this resolution stood : 196 for it, and 6 against it. 

The second resolution was in these words : 

"Resolved, That petitions for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and 
the Territories of the United States, and against the removal of slaves from one State to 
another, are a part of a plan of operations set on foot to affect the institution of .slavery 
in the Southern States, and thus indirectly to destroy that institution within their 
limits." 

On this resolution the vote stood : 136 for it, and 65 against it. 

The third resolution was in these words: 
"Resolved, Tliat Congress has no right to do that indirectly which it cannot do directly ; 



680 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

and that the agitation of the subject of slavery in the District of Columbia, or the Territo- 
ries, as a means, and with a view, of disturbing or overthrowing that institution in the 
several States, is against the true spirit and meaning of the constitution, an infringement 
of the riglits of the States afiected, and a breach of the public faith upon which they 
entered into the confederacy." 

The vote ou this resolution ■\vas : 164 in favor of it, and 40 against it. 

The fourth of this series was in these words : 

" iZeso/rcrf, That the constitution rests on the broad principle of equality among the 
members of this confederacy, and that Congress, in the exercise of its acknowledged 
powers, has no right to discriminate between the institutions of one portion of the States 
and another, with a view of abolishing the one and promoting the other." 

The vote on this resolution was : 174 in favor of it, and 24 against it. 

The fifth and last of Mr. Atherton's resolutions was in these words : 

"Resolved, That all attempts on the part of Congress to abolish slavery in the District 
of Columbia, or the Territories, or to prohibit the removal of slaves from State to State, or to 
discriminate between the institutions of one portion of the confederacy and another, with the 
view aforesaid, are in violation of the constitution, destructive of the fundamental principle 
on which the union of these States rests, and beyond the jurisdiction of Congress; and that 
every petition, memorial, resolution, proposition, or paper, touching or relating in any way, 
or to any extent whatever, to slavery, as aforesaid, or the abolition thereof, shall, on the 
presentation thereof, without any further action thereon, be laid upon the table, without 
being debated, printed, or referred." 

The vote on the first branch of this resolution was, 146 in favor, and 

52 against it; on the second branch of the resolution the vote stood, 126 

for it, and 78 against it. 

As we shall see, this declaration of Congress was far from quieting the 
agitation upon this troublesome question. The slavery conflict had in 
reality just begun. 

In the fall of 1840 the ])residontial election was hold. Mr. Van 
Burcn and Vice-President Johnson were nominated for re-election by 
the Democratic party, and the Whigs supported General William Henry 
Harrison, of Ohio, for president, and John Tyler, of Virginia, for vice- 
president. The financial distress of the country iiad been but slightly 
relieved, and Avas generally attributed by the i)cople to the interference 
of the jrovernment with the currency. This feeling made the Democratic 
nominees exceedingly unpopular, and the political campaign, Avhich was 
one of the most exciting ever conducted in this country, resulted in the 
election of Harrison and Tyler by overwhelming majorities. 

In 1840 the sixth census showed the population of the United States 
to be 17,0o9,45.a 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 




THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON AND JOHN 

TYLER. 

An Extra Session of Congress Summoned — Death of President Harrison — John Tyler 
becomes President of tlie United States — Meeting of Congress — The Bankrupt Law — 
President Tyler Vetoes the Bills to Revive the United States Bank — His Quarrel with 
his Party— The " Tyler Whigs"— The Tariff of 1842— The Treaty of Washington— The 
United States will not Tolerate the Exercise of the Right of Search — Dorr's Rebellion 
— The Mormons — Invention of the Electric Telegraph — Explosion on the " Princeton " 
— Efforts to Secure the Annexation of Texas — Early History of Texas — The Texan War 
of Independence — Battle of San Jacinto — Texan Independence Established — Texas 
Applies for Admission into the Union — Opposition to the Measure — Significance of the 
Vote at the Presidential Election—James K. Polk Elected President — Texas admitted 
into the Union — Iowa and Florida become States. 

X the 4th of March, 1841, William Henry Harrison was inaugu- 
rated president of the United States at Washington in the pres- 
ence of an immense concourse of citizens from all parts of the 
Union. He was in his sixty-ninth year, and had spent forty 
years of his life in the public service. His services during the 
Indian hostilities which preceded the war of 1812—15, and his exploits 
during that war, have been related. He had served as governor of In- 
diana Territory, and had been both a member 
of Congress and a senator of the United States. 
He was a man of pure life and earnest char- 
acter, and the certainty of a change of policy in 
the measures of the federal government had 
caused the people of the country to look forward 
to his administration with hope and confidence. 
He began by calling to seats in his cabinet men 
of prominence and ability. At the head of the 
cabinet he placed Daniel Webster, as secretary 
of state. The president issued a proclamation 
convening Congress in special session on the 
31st of May, 1841. He was not destined to fulfil the hopes of his friends, 
however. He was suddenly seized with pneumonia, and died on the 4th 
of April, 1841 — just one month after his inauguration. 

\ 681 




WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



682 



IJSTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



It was the first time that a president of the United States had died in 
office, and a gloom was cast over the nation by the sad event, Tiie 
mourning of the people was sincere, for in General Harrison the nation 
lost a faithful, upright, and able citizen. He had spent forty years in 
prominent public positions, and had discharged every duty confided to 
him with ability and integrity, and went to his grave a poor man. 
" Brave old Cincinnatus ! he left but his plow." 

Upon the assembling of Congress, that body, " out of consideration of 

his expenses in removing to the seat of government, and the limited 

means he had left behind," appropriated the equivalent of one yearns 

presidential salary — twenty-five thousand dollars — to Mrs, Harrison. 

According to the terms of the constitution, upon the death of General 

Harrison, the office of president of the 
United States devolved upon the vice-presi- 
dent, John Tyler, of Virginia. Mr. Tyler 
was not in the city of Washington at the 
time of the death of his predecessor, but re- 
paired to that city without loss of time, upon 
being notified of the need of his presence, 
and on the 6th of April took the oath of 
office before Judge Cranch, chief justice of 
the District of Columbia. Mr. Tyler was 
in his fifty-second year, and had served as 
governor of Virginia, and as representative 
and senator in Congress from that State. On 
the 9th of April President Tyler issued an 
address to the people of the United States, in 
which there was no indication of a departure 
from the policy announced in the inaugural of General Harrison, He 
retained the cabinet ministers of his predecessors in their respective 
positions. 

On the 31st of May the Twenty-seventh Congress convened in extra 
session. It was known as the " Whig Congress," as a large majority of 
its members were of that party. Had this party remained united they 
fould have controlled the action of Congress to suit themselves, but as 
we shall see the policy of the executive soon divided them. The first act 
of this Congress was to repeal the sub-treasury bill which had been ])assed 
in 1840. The effects of the commercial crisis had involved thousands 
of merchants in hopeless bankruptcy, and under the old laws they had 
no means of recovering their lost position, as they were crushed down by 
their debts. Neither their creditors nor the country at large derived any 




JOHN TYLER. 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 



683 



benefit from this state of affairs, and Congress at once passed a general 
bankrupt law for the relief of persons thus situated. It was highly bene- 
ficial to the country, and was repealed, in 1843, when the necessity for it 
had ceased to exist. 

Efforts were made to revive the Bank of the United States, and a bill 
was passed establishing an institution known as "The Fiscal Bank of the 
United States," Mr. Tyler, who was a member of the strict construc- 
tionist school, now found himself at variance with a majority of his 
party in both Houses of Congress. As he did not believe that Congress 
could constitutionally charter such an institution, he vetoed this bill. 
The advocates of the measure could not command the requisite two-thirds 





DAVENPORT, IOWA. 

majority for the passage of the bill over the president's veto, and his 
action was sustained. Another bill was passed by Congress, of a similar 
character, establishing " The Fiscal Corporation of the United States/' 
but this also was vetoed by the president for the same reasons. His veto 
was sustained by Congress in this instance also. The vetoes of these 
measures were generally approved by the strict constructionists through- 
out the Union, without reirard to party ; but they were bitterly denounced 
by the majority of the Whigs, who charged the president with having 
violated the implied pledges upon Avhich he was elected, and with having 
betrayed his party. The Whigs were for the time forgetful of the fact 
that at the time of his nomination to the vice-presidency Mr. Tyler \vas 
known to be opposed to the Bank of the United States. The members 



684 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of the cabinet, with the single exception of the secretary of state, resigned 
their positions in consequence of Mr. Tyler's coux'se. Mr. Webster 
retained his position in order to complete tlie important negotiations he 
was at the time conducting with England. The places of the other mem- 
bers of the cabinet were filled by the president with prominent members 
of the strict constructionist school of the Whig party, who sustained the 
president. 

The second session of the Twenty-seventh Congress met in December, 
1841, and continued its sittings until August, 1842. It was noted as tlie 
longest session ever held up to this time. It found the Whig party 
divided, and the opposing factions bitterly hostile to each other. The 
majority, led by Mr. Clay, opposed the administration. The minority, 
because of their support of the president, received the name of " Tyler 
Whigs." The principal question agitated during this session was the 
tariff. According to the compromise act of 1833, the duties this year 
were to be regulated according to a revenue standard. The majority in 
Congress, however, paid no regard to the pledge given in this compro- 
mise, and a new tariff bill was passed by both Houses of Congress, regu- 
lating the duties on a strongly protective basis, and with the avowed 
object of reviving the protective policy. It was vetoed by the president. 
Another measure of a similar though slightly modified character was 
passed, and this was vetoed also. Congress then passed the tarrff of 1842, 
in which the principles of the compromise of 1833 were altogether set 
aside, and the duties made strictly protective. It required a sharp strug- 
gle in Congress to secure the passage of this bill ; which received the 
executive signature on the 30th of August. 

In the meantime Mr. Webster succeeded in bringing the negotiations 
with Great Britain to a successful close. These negotiations had grown 
out of the revolutionary disturbances in Canada, and the controversy 
respecting the northeast boundary of the United States, during tlie 
administration of Mr. Van Burcn, which we have related. The boun- 
dary question was of older origin than the former controversy, and had 
been pending between the United States and England for fifty years. 
Mr. Webster, immediately upon his entrance upon the office of secretary 
of state, had, with the approval of the president, signified the desire of 
this country to terminate the controversy, and Lord Ashburton had been 
sent by the British government as special minister to the United States, 
with full power to settle all the controversies between the two countries. 
The treaty of Washington was concluded in 1842, and was accej)ted by 
both countries as a settlement of the questions at issue between them. 

By the terms of this treaty the northeastern boundary was arranged as 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARBISON AND TYLER. 



685 



it exists at present ; the United States obtained the free navigation of the 
St. John's river to the sea ; and gained possession of the important mili- 
tary position of Rouse's Point, at the outlet of Lake Champlain. The 
two countries mutually agreed to surrender upon proper demand all 
fugitives from justice escaping from the territory of one into that of the 
other ; and to maintain a certain number of ships of war on the African 
coast to aid in suppressing the slave trade. 

When the treaty was completed two subjects presented themselves to 
the negotiators. One of these was the right claimed by Great Britain for 
her cruisers to stop and if necessary to search merchant vessels belonging 
to other nations on the high seas ; the other was the impressment of sea- 
men from American merchant vessels by British cruisers. Mr. AVebster, 




EVANSVILLE, JNDIANA. 

in a paper of great ability, addressed to the American minister at London, 
but intended for the British foreign minister, denied the right of search, 
and sustained his position by arguments that were simply irrefutable. 
In a letter to Lord Ashbnrton Mr. Webster refused to consider the im- 
pressment question, as the United States could in no case admit such a 
claim on the part of Great Britain, and declared that every case of im- 
pressment would be considered an act of hostility and would be repelled 
as such. He declared as the unalterable policy of this country the doc- 
trine that " Every merchant vessel on the high seas is rightfully con- 
sidered as a part of the territory to -which it belongs;" that "in every 
regularly documented American merchant vessel the crew who navigate 
it will find their protection in the flag which is over them ; " and that 
" the American government, then, is prepared to say that the practice of 



686 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

impressing seamen from American vessels cannot hereafter be allowed to 
take place." The tone of the secretary of state, though firm, M'as cour- 
teous and conciliatory, and the negotiations were conducted in the same 
spirit of conciliation by the British minister. 

With this treaty the United States formally took their position as one 
of the great powers of the world. The negotiations being completed, Mr. 
Webster resigned his place in the cabinet in May, 1843, and Mas suc- 
ceeded by Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia. 

In 1842 an insurrection broke out in the State of Rhode Island, which 
required the intervention of the United States for its suppression. It is 
known as the Dorr rebellion. The old charter of the colony, granted by 
Charles II., in 1663, had up to this time served as the constitution of the 
State. It was found to be unsuited to the requirements of the people in 
their more prosperous condition, and an effort was made to change it. 
Two parties were formed, one in favor of the proposed changes, the other 
opposed to them. Each party nominated its candidate for the office of 
governor and elected him. The "suffrage party," which favored the 
changes, elected Thomas W. Dorr governor, took up arms, and attacked 
the State arsenal for the purpose of arming their followers. They were 
repulsed by the State militia assisted by the United States troops. Dorr 
was arrested, tried for treason, and sentenced to imprisonment for life. 
He was released in 1845. The opponents of the " suffrage party " deemed 
it best to yield to the popular wish, however, and in November, 1842, a 
new constitution, embracing the desired changes, was adopted by the 
legislature. 

About the same time a series of disturbances occurred in the State of 
Illinois, which were but the forerunners of a more serious embarrassment 
to the general government at a later period. A new religious sect had 
sprung up some years before in the western part of New York. They 
called themselves Mormons, and were founded by a cunning impostor 
named Joseph Smith, who professed to have received a new revelation 
from God, written on plates of gold. Among the articles of the Mormon 
faith is one which teaches the doctrine of a plurality of wives. Feeling 
that the east was not favorable to their growth, the Mormons at an early 
day removed to the west. They settled at first in Missouri, but so 
exasperated the people of that State by their conduct, that they were soon 
driven out of Missouri. 

Crossing the Mississippi, they settled in Illinois, and founded a city 
which they called Nauvoo, and built a temple. Their numbers increased 
rapidly from emigration from nearly every country in Europe. The new- 
comers were mainly persons of low position and without education. 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 



687 



Conscious of their strength, they raised troops, and set the authority of 
the State of Illinois at defiance. The State endeavored to reduce them to 
obedience, and their conduct, as in Missouri, turned the people against 
them. Several conflicts ensued between the Mormons and the authorities. 
In one of these Joe Smith, the prophet, and his brother were seized and 
put in jail ; and while lying there were murdered by the mob in July, 
1844. This brought matters to a crisis, and the people of Illinois deter- 
mined to drive the Mormons across the Mississippi. Nauvoo was attacked 
in 1845, and the Mormons were compelled to leave the State. In 1846 
they bent their steps westward, and after a long and painful journey across 
the plains, reached the valley of Salt Lake, and established a settlement 
there. Out of this settlement grew the Territory of Utah. 




MADISON, WISCONSIN. 



In 1844 occurred one of the most important events in the history of 
the world. In 1832 Samuel F. B. Morse, a native of Massachusetts, 
invented the electric telegraph. He spent some years in* perfecting his in- 
vention, and in 1838 applied to Congress for a small appropriation to assist 
him in building a line of wire to demonstrate the usefulness of his dis- 
covery. He was obliged to wait five years for a favorable answer, and it 
was not until he had given up all hope of receiving aid from Congress 
that that body, on the last day of the session of 1843, appropriated the sura 
of thirty thousand dollars to construct a telegraph line between Washing- 
ton City and Baltimore, a distance of forty miles. The line was completed 



6.88 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

in 1844, and was successfully operated by Professor Morse. This was the 
first line established in the world. In the thirty-one years which have 
elapsed since then the use of the telegraph has become general throuo-hout 
the civilized world, and in the United States alone over sixty thousand 
miles of telegraph lines are in operation at the present time. 

On the 28th of February, 1844, the president, accompanied by the 
members of his cabinet and a number of distinguished citizens, officers of 
the army and navy, and ladies, went on board the new steam frigate 
" Princeton," lying in the Potomac, to witness the experimental firings 
of a new cannon of unusual size on board that ship, to which the name 
of "The Peacemaker" had been given. At one of the discharges the 
gun exploded, causing the instant death of Messrs. Upshur and Gilmer, 
the secretaries of state and of the navy, and several other spectators. 
This sad event was greatly lamented throughout the country. Judge 
Upshur was succeeded as secretary of state by John C. Calhoun, then a 
senator from South Carolina. 

The last years of Mr. Tyler's administration were devoted to the effort 
to secure the annexation of the republic of Texas to the United States. 
The territory embraced within the limits of Texas constituted a part of 
the Spanish-American possessions, and was generally regarded as a part 
of Mexico. During the last century a number of forts had been erected 
in Texas by the Spaniards as a means of holding the province against the 
French, and each fort was made a missionary station, from Mhich efforts 
were made to convert the Indians, but without success. The United 
States were, in the early part of the present century, inclined to regard 
Texas as rightfully a part of the Louisiana purchase, but this claim was 
waived when Florida was purchased. 

Early in the present century pioneers from the United States began to 
find their way to Texas, which was then a wild country, inhabited only 
by roving Indians, and the garrisons of the few Spanish forts within its 
limits. One of these emigrants, Moses Austin, of Durham, Connecticut, 
conceived the plan of colonizing Texas with settlers from the United 
States. For this purpose he obtained from the Spanish government, in 
1820, the grant of an extensive tract of land ; but before he could put 
his plans in execution he died. His son, Stephen F. Austin, inherited 
the rights of his father under this grant, and went to Texas with a number 
of emigrants from this country, and explored that region for the pur])osc 
of locxiting his grant. He selected as the most desirable site for his 
colony the country between the Brazos and Colorado rivers, and founded 
a city, which he named Austin in honor of the originator of the colony, 
to whom Texas owes its existence as an American commonwealth. Hav- 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 



689 



ing seen the settlers established in their new homes, Mr. Austin returned 
to the United States to collect other emigrants for his colony. 

During his absence Mexico and the other Spanish provinces rose in 
revolt against Spain, and succeeded in establishing their independence. 
Texas, being regarded as a part of the Mexican territory, shared the for- 
tunes of that country. Upon his return to Texas, Austin, in considera- 
tion of the altered state of affairs, went to the city of Mexico and obtained 
from the Mexican government a confirmation of the grant made to his 
father. Such a confirmation was necessary in order to enable him to give 
the settlers valid titles to the lands of his colony. Mexico at first exercised 
but a nominal authority over the new settlements, and the colonists were 




OLD FORT BENTON, MONTANA. 

allowed to live under their own laws, subject to the rules drawn up by 
Austin. In order to encourage settlements in Texas, the Mexican Con- 
gress, on the 2d of May, 1824, enacted the following law, declaring, 
" That Texas is to be annexed to the Mexican province of Cohahuila, 
until it is of sufficient importance to form a separate State, when it is to 
become an independent State of the Mexican republic, equal to the other 
States of which the same is composed, free, sovereign, and independent 
in whatever exclusively relates to its internal government and adminis- 
tration." 

Encouraged by this decree, large numbers of Americans emigrated to 
44 



690 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Texas, and to these were added emigrants from all the countries of 
Europe. The population grew rapidly, new towns sprang up, and 
Austin's colony prospered in a marked degree, until 1830, when Busta- 
mente having made himself by violence and intrigue president of the so- 
called Mexican republic, prohibited the emigration of foreigners to the 
Mexican territory, and issued a number of decrees very oppressive to the 
people, and in violation of the constitution of 1824. In order to enforce 
these measures in Texas, he occupied that province with his troops, and 
placed Texas under military rule. The Texans resented this interference 
with their rights, and finally compelled the Mexican troops to withdraw 
from the province. In 1832 another revolution in Mexico drove Busta- 
mente from power, and placed Santa Anna at the head of affairs as presi- 
dent or dictator. 

Texas took no part in the disturbances of Mexico, but after the acces- 
sion of Santa Anna to power, formed a constitution, and applied for 
admission into the Mexican republic as a State, in accordance Avith the 
constitution of 1824, and the act of the Mexican Congress which we have 
quoted. Stephen F. Austin was sent to the city of Mexico to present the 
petition of Texas for this purpose. He was refused an answer to this 
petition for over a year, and at last wrote to the authorities of Texas, 
advising them to organize a State government without waiting for the 
action of the Mexican Congress. For this recommendation, which the 
INIcxican government regarded as treasonable, Santa Anna caused the 
arrest of Austin, and kept him in prison for over a year. Texas now 
began to manifest the most determined opposition to the usurpation of 
Santa Anna, and measures were taken to maintain the rights of the 
province under the constitution of 1824. Troops were organized, and 
preparations made to resist the force which it was certain Mexico would 
send against them. 

Santa Anna did not allow them to remain long in suspense, but at once 
despatched a force under General Cos, to disarm the Texans. On the 
2d of October, 1835, Cos attacked the town of Gonzalez, Avhich was held 
by a Texan force, but was repulsed with heavy loss. A week later, on 
the 9th of October, the Texans captured the town of Goliad, and a little 
later gained possession of the mission house of the Alamo. Both places 
were garrisoned, and the Texan army, which was under the command of 
Austin, in the course of a few months succeeded in driving the Mexicans 
out of Texas. 

On the 12th of November, 1835, a convention of the people of Texas 
met at the city of Austin, and organized a regular State government. 
Prominent among the members was General Sam Houston, a settler 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 



691 



from the United States. Soon after the meeting of the convention Gen- 
eral Austin resigned the command of the army, and was sent to the United 
States as the commissioner of that State to this government, and was 
succeeded as commander-in-chief by General Sam Houston. Henry 
Smith was elected governor of Texas by the people. 

As soon as Santa Anna learned that his troops had been driven out of 
Texas, and that the Texans had set up a State government, he set out for 
that country with an army of seventy-five hundred men. He issued 
orders to his troops to shoot every prisoner taken, and intended to make 
the 'struggle a war of extermination. He arrived before the Alamo late 
in February, 1836. This fort was very strong, and was held by a force 
of one hundred and forty Texans under Colonel Travis. It was besieged 




FORT ALAMO — SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. 

by the whole Mexican army, and was subjected to a bombardment of 
eleven days. At last, on the 6th of March, the garrison being worn out 
with fatigue, the fort was carried by assault, and the whole garrison was 
put to the sword. Among the heroes who fell at the Texan Thermopylae 
was the eccentric but chivalrous Colonel Davy Crockett of Tennessee, who 
had generously come to aid the Texans in their struggle for liberty. The 
capture of the Alamo cost the Mexicans a loss of sixteen hundred men, 
or over eleven men for every one of its defenders. 

On the 17th of March, 1836, the convention adopted a constitution for 
an independent republic, and formally proclaimed the independence of 
Texas. David G. Burnett was elected president of the republic. 



692 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The fort at Goliad was held by a force of three hundred and thirty 
Texans, under Colonel Fanning, a native of Georgia. On the 27th of 
March it was attacked by the Mexican army. The garrison maintained 
a gallant defence, but their resources being exhausted, and the Mexicans 
being reinforced during the night, Fanning decided to surrender his force, 
if he could obtain honorable terms. He j^roposcd to Santa Anna to lay 
down his arms, and surrender the post on condition that he and his men 
should be allowed and assisted to return to the United States. The prop- 
osition was accepted by Santa Anna, and the terms of the surrender were 
formally drawn up and were signed by each commander. As soon as the 
surrender was made, however, and the arms of the Texans were delivered, 
Santa Anna, in base violation of his pledge, caused Fanning and the 
survivors of the garrison, to the number of tliree hundred men, to be put 
to death. 

The massacres of the Alamo and Goliad, and the steady advance of 
the Mexican army under Santa Anna, caused a feeling of profound alarm 
throughout the new republic. The government was removed temporarily 
to Galveston, and General Houston retreated behind the San Jacinto. 
Santa Anna pursued the Texan forces, and at length came up with them 
on the banks of that stream. Plouston had but seven hundred and fifty 
men with him, and these were imperfectly armed, and without discipline. 
With this force he surprised the Mexican camp, on the 21st of April, 
and routed the Mexican army, inflicting upon it a loss of over six hun- 
dred killed, and taking more than eight hundred prisoners. Santa Anna 
himself was among the prisoners. Houston at once entered into negotia- 
tions with him for the withdrawal of the INIcxican forces from Texas. 
This was done at once, and the independence of Texas was achieved. 
Santa Anna also recognized the inde])ondcnce of the new republic, but 
the Mexican Congress refused to confirm this act. 

Houston was now the idol of the Texan people, as the deliverer of 
their country from the hated Mexicans. At the next general election he 
was chosen president of the republic, and was inaugurated on the 22d of 
October, 1836. General Mirabeau B. Lamar was the third president of 
the republic of Texas, and entered upon his office in 1838. He was 
succeeded in 1844 by Anson Jones, the fourth president. The territory 
of the republic was sufficiently large to make five States the size of New 
York, and its climate and soil were among the most delightful and fertile 
in the world. It contaired a population of about two hundred thousand, 
and was increasing rapidly in inhabitants and in prosperity. 

On the 3d of March, 1837, the independence of the republic of Texas 
was acknowledged by the United States, and in 1839 by France and 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 693 

England. Being young and feeble, and being settled almost entirely by 
Americans, the people of Texas at an early day came to the conclusion 
that their best interests required them to seek a union with the United 
States, and as early as August, 1837, a proposition was submitted to Mr. 
Van Buren looking to such a union. It was declined by him, but the 
question was taken up by the press and people of the Union, and was 
discussed with the greatest interest and activity. The south was unani- 
mously in favor of the annexation of Texas, as it was a region in which 
slave labor would be particularly profitable ; and a strong party in the 
north opposed the annexation for the reason that it would inevitably 
extend the area of slavery. An additional argument against annexa- 
tion was that it would involve a war with Mexico, which had never 
acknowledged the independence of Texas. 

In April, 1844, Texas formally applied for admission into the United 
States, and a treaty for that purpose was negotiated with her by the 
government of this country. It was 
rejected by the Senate. 

In the fall of 1844 the presidential 
election took place. The leading 
political question of the day was the 
annexation of Texas. It ^vas advo- 
cated by the administration of Presi- 
dent Tyler and by the Democratic 
party. This party also made the claim of the United States to Oregon 
one of the leading issues of the campaign. Its candidates were James 
K. Polk, of Tennessee, and George M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania. The 
Whig party supported Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and Theodore 
Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, and opposed the annexation of Texas. 

During this campaign, which was one of unusual excitement, the 
Anti-slavery party made its appearance for the first time as a distinct 
political organization, and nominated James G. Birney as its candidate 
for the presidency. 

The result of the campaign was a decisive victory for the Democrats. 
This success was generally regarded as an emphatic expression of the 
popular will respecting the Texas and Oregon questions. Mr. Birney did 
not receive a single electoral vote, and of the popular vote only sixty-four 
thousand six hundred and fifty-three ballots were cast for him. 

When Congress met in December, 1864, the eiforts for the annexation 
of Texas were renewed. A proposition was made to receive Texas into 
the Union by a joint resolution of Congress. A bill for this purpose 
passed the House of Representatives, but the Senate added an amend- 




COAT OF ARMS OF TEXAS. 



694 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




COAT OF Amis OF IOWA. 



ment appointing commissioners to negotiate with Mexico for the annexa- 
tion of Texas, which she still claimed as a part of her territory. The 
president was authorized by a clause in these resolutions to adopt either 
the House or the Senate plan of annexation, and on the 2d of March, 
1845, the resolutions were adopted. Senator Benton, of Missouri, the 
author of the Senate plan, was of the opinion that the matter would be 
left to Mr. Polk, the president-elect, to be conducted by him ; and that 
gentleman had expressed his intention to carry out the Senate plan, as he 

hoped an amicable arrangement 
could be made with Mexico. Mr. 
Tyler, however, determined not to 
leave the annexation of Texas to his 
successor, and at once adopted the 
plan proposed in the House resolu- 
tions, and on the night of Sunday, 
March 3d, a messenger was des- 
patched with all speed to Texas to lay the proposition before the authori- 
ties of that State. It was accepted by them, and on the 4th of July, 
1845, Texas became one of the United States. 

The area thus added to the territory of the Union comprised two hun- 
dred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred and four square miles. It 
was provided by the act of admission that four additional States might be 
formed out of the territory of Texas, when the j)opulation should increase 
to an extent which should make such a step desirable. Those States 
lying north of the Missouri Compromise line — 36° 30' north latitude — 
were to be free States ; those south of 
that line were to be free or slave- 
holding, "as the people of each State 
asking admission may desire." To 
Texas was reserved the right to re- 
fuse to allow the division of her 
territory. 

On the 3d of March, 1845, the 
president approved an act of Congre&s admitting the Territories of Iowa 
and Florida into the Union as vStates. , 

No president has ever been more unpopular during his administration 
than Mr. Tyler. His administration speaks for itself, however, and bears 
out the truth of his memorable words : " I appeal from the vituperation 
of the present day to the pen of impartial history, in the full confidence 
that neither my motives nor ray acts w'ill bear the interpretation which 
has, for sinister purposes, been placed upon them." 




COAT OF ARMS OF FLORIDA. 



CHAPTER XXXyil. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES K. POLK — THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 

The Oregon Question — Position of President Polk respecting it — The Question Settled — 
Treaty for Settlement of Claims against Mexico — Mexico Resents the Annexation of 
Texas — General Taylor Ordered to Texas — He Advances to the Rio (jlrande— Battles of 
Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palnia — The War with Mexico Begun — Invasion of Mexico 
—Occupation of Matamoras — Action of the United States Government — Taylor Advances 
into the Interior — The Storming and Capture of Monterey — The Armistice— Return of 
Santa Anna to Mexico — President Polk Duped— Santa Anna Seizes the Mexican Govern- 
ment — General Wool Joins General Taylor — Troops Taken from Taylor's Array — Ad- 
vance of the Mexicans — Battle of Buena Vista— Conquest of California by Fremont 
and Stockton— Occupation of Santa Fe— New Mexico Conquered— Doniphan's March 
— Occupation of Chihuahua — Sailing of Scott's Expedition — Reduction of Vera Cruz- 
Santa Anna Collects a New Army — Battle of Cerro Gordo — Occupation of Puebla liy 
Scott — Trouble with Mr. Trist — Vigorous INIeasures of Santa Anna— Scott Advances upon 
the City of Mexico — El Penon Turned— Battles of Contreras and Churubusco — Capture 
of Molino del Rey — Storming of Chapultepec — Capture of the City of Mexico— Siege 
of Puebla Raised — Flight of Santa Anna — Treaty of Peace Negotiated — Close of the 
War^Acquisition of California and New Mexico — Discovery of Gold in California — 
Rapid Emigration to the Pacific — Death of John Quincy Adams — The Wilmot Proviso 
— Revival of the Slavery Question — General Taylor elected President. 

HE inauguration of James K. Polk, as president of the United 
States, took place on the 4th of March, 1845. He had served 
the country as governor of the State of Tennessee, and for four- 
teen years had been a member of the House of Pepresentatives 
in Congress from that State, and had been several times chosen 
speaker of that body. His cabinet was selected from the first men of his 
party. James Buchanan was secretary of state ; Robert J. Walker was 
secretary of the treasury ; William L. INIarcy, secretary of war ; and George 
Bancroft, the historian, secretary of the navy. 

Two important questions presented themselves to the new administration 
for settlement : the troubles with Mexico growing out of the annexation 
of Texas, and the arrangement of the northwestern boundary of the United 
States. 

The question of the northwestern boundary had been left unsettled by 
the treaty of Washington in 1842. Great Britain was anxious to arrange 
the matter, and late in the year 1842 Mr. I'ox, the British minister at 

695 




696 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Washington, proposed to ]\Ir. \Yebstor, then secretary of state, to open 
negotiations. The British proposition was accepted, but nothing further 
was done until February, 1844, when Sir Richard Packenham, the British 
minister at Washington, proposed to take up the question of the Oregon 
boundary and settle it. Mr. Upshur, the secretary of state, accepted the 
offer, but was killed a few days later by the explosion on board the 
" Princeton." Six months later. Sir Riciiard Packenham renewed the 
proposal to Mr. Calhoun, who had become secretary of state, and nego- 
tiations were entered upon in earnest. 

The territory of Oregon lay between the forty-second and fifty-fourth 
parallels of north latitude, and extended from the Eocky mountains on 
the east to the Pacific ocean on the west. This region was originally 
claimed by Spain, by whose subjects it %vas first discovered. At the ces- 
sion of Florida, Spain ceded to the United States all her territory north 

of the forty-second parallel of north lati- 
tude, from the headwaters of the Arkansas 
to the Pacific. ISIexico, upon achieving her 
independence, had acknowledged by a treaty 
with the United States the validity of this 
boundary. The line of fifty-four degrees 
forty minutes north latitude was established 
by treaty between the United States, Great 
Britain, and Russia as the southern boun- 
dary of the Russian possessions in America. 
The United States claimed the entire re- 
gion of Oregon in virtue of the cession of 
Spain in the Florida treaty ; the discoveries 
of Captain Gray, of Boston, who circunuiavi- 
gated the glo))e, and in 1792 discovered to a 
certain extent and explored the Columbia river; the explorations of 
Lewis and Clarke in 1805 and 1806 of the southern main branch of the 
Columbia, and of the river itself from the mouth of that branch to the 
sea; and the settlement of Astoria planted at the mouth of the Columbia 
in 1811 by John Jacob Astor, of New York. Oregon was also claimed 
by England, who also rested her pretensions on discovery, and on the 
settlement made by the Northwest Company on Fraser's river, in 1806, 
and on another near the headwaters of the north branch of the Columbia. 
In 1818 the United States and Great Britain had agreed u])on the 
forty-ninth degree of north latitude, as the boimdarv between the United 
States and British America from the Lake of the Woods to the summit 
of the Rocky mountains. INIr. Calhoun now ojjened the negotiations by 




JAMES K. POLK. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES K. POLK. 697 

proposing to continue this line to the Pacific. The British minister would 
not consent to this, but proposed to extend the forty-ninth parallel from 
the mountains to the north branch of the Columbia, and then to make 
the boundary follow that stream from this point of intersection to the sea. 
Mr. Calhoun at once declined to accept this boundary, and the further con- 
sideration of the subject was postponed until Packenham could receive 
additional instructions from his government. 

During the presidential campaign of 1844 the Democratic party adopted 
as its watchword, "all of Oregon or none," and the excitement upon the 
question ran high. The election of Mr. Polk showed that the American 
people were resolved to insist upon their claim to Oregon, and when the 
new president in his inaugural address took the bold ground that the 



PORTLAND, OREGON, IN 1875-r-FROM: EAST SIDE OF WILLAMETTE. 

American title to " Oregon territory " " was dear and indisputable," and 
declared his intention to maintain it at the cost of war with England, the 
matter assumed a serious aspect, and for a while it seemed that party pas- 
sion would involve the two countries in hostilities. President Polk, upon 
a calmer consideration of the subject, caused the secretary of state to 
reopen the negotiations by proposing to Great Britain the forty-ninth 
parallel of latitude as a boundary. The British minister declined the 
proposition, and the matter was dropped. 

According to the treaties of 1818 and 1828, the joint occupation of 
Oregon could be terminated by either party by giving the other twelve 
months notice. The president now proposed to give the required notice, 
which was done by a resolution of Congress. This put an end to the old 
arrangement, and compelled the two countries to make a new settlement 



698 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



of the difficulty ; and this was the object of the president in terminating 
tlie joint occupation. 

The subject was brought to the notice of the British Parliament by Sir 
Eobert Peel, who expressed his regret that the last offer of the United 
States had been declined. The British ministry decided at length to re- 
©ijen negotiations, and Sir Richard Packenham shortly after communicated 
to Mr. Buchanan the willingness of his government to accept the forty- 
ninth parallel as a boundary. 

The time at which the joint occupation would terminate was rapidly 
drawing to a close, and the president was anxious to settle the matter, but 
at the same time was not willing to assume the responsibility of accept- 




STEEET IN OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 

ing a boundary which fell so far short of the popular expectations. At 
the suggestion of Senator Benton, of Missouri, lie asked the advice of the 
Senate as to the propriety of accepting the British offer, and pledged him- 
self to be guided by its decision. The Senate advised him to accej)t it, 
and Avhen the treaty was sent to it, ratified it after a warm debate extend- 
ing over two days. Thus the matter Avas brought to a close. By the 
treaty, which was concluded in 1846, the forty-ninth parallel of north 
latitude was made the boundary between the United States and the Brit- 
ish ])ossessions, from the summit of the Rocky mountains to the middle 
of the channel between Vancouver's island and the mainland, and thence 
southerly through the middle of the Straits of San Juan de Fuca to the 



ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES K. POLK. 699 

Pacific. The navigation of the Columbia river and its main northern 
branch was made free to both parties. 

In the meantime the Mexican difficuhy had been found much harder 
of settlement. Mexico had never acknowledged the independence of 
Texas, and since the defeat at San Jacinto had repeatedly threatened to 
restore her authority over the Tex;ans by force of arms. She warmly 
resented the annexation of Texas by the United States, and a few days 
after that event was completed, General Almonte, the Mexican minister 
at Washington, entered a formal protest against the course of the United 
States, demanded his passports and left the country. 

Some years before this a number of American ships trading with Mex- 
ican ports had been seized and plundered by the Mexican authorities, who 
also confiscated the property of a number of American residents in that 
country. The sufferers by these outrages appealed for redress to the gov- 
ernment of the United States, which had repeatedly tried to negotiate 
with Mexico for the collection of these claims, which amounted to six 
millions of dollars. Mexico made several promises of settlement, but 
failed to comply with them. In 1840, however, a new treaty was made 
between that country and the United States, and Mexico pledged herself 
to pay the American claims in twenty annual instalments of three hun- 
dred thousand dollars each. Three of these instalments had been paid 
at the time of the annexation of Texas ; but Mexico now refused to make 
any further payment. 

Mexico claimed that the limits of Texas properly ended at the Neuces 
river, while the Texans insisted that their boundary was the Rio Grande. 
Thus the region between these two rivers became a debatable land, claimed 
by both parties, and a source of great and immediate danger. It was 
evident that Mexico was about to occupy this region with her troops, and 
the legislature of Texas, alarmed by the threatening attitude of that coun- 
try, called upon the United States government to protect its territory. 
The president at once sent General Zachary Taylor with a force of fifteen 
hundred regular troops, called the " army of occupation," to " take posi- 
tion in the country between the Neuces and the Rio Grande, and to repel 
any invasion of the Texan territory." General Taylor accordingly took 
position at Corpus Christi, at the mouth of the Neuces, in September, 
1845, and remained there until the spring of 1846. At the same time 
a squadron of war vessels under Commodore Conner was despatched to 
the Gulf to cooperate with General Taylor, Both of these ofiicers " were 
ordered to commit no act of hostility against Mexico unless she declared 
war, or was herself the aggressor by striking the first blow." 

At the commencement of the dispute between the two countries, Hfer- 



700 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

rera was president of Mexico. Although diplomatic communications 
had ceased between the United States and Mexico, he was anxious to settle 
the quarrel by negotiation, but at the presidential election held about this 
time Herrera was defeated, and Paredes, who was bitterly hostile to the 
United States, was chosen president of the Mexican republic. Paredes 
openly avowed his determination to drive the Americans beyond the 
Neuces. 

In February, 1846, General Taylor was ordered by President Polk to 
advance from the Neuces to a point on the Rio Grande, opposite the 
Mexican town of Matamoras, and establish there a fortified post, in order 
to check the INIexican forces which Mere assembling- there in larse num- 
bers for the purpose of invading Texas. Taylor at once set out, and 
leaving the greater part of his stores at Point Isabel, on the Gulf, ad- 
vanced to the Rio Grande, and built a fort and established a camp oppo- 
site and within cannon shot of Matamoras. General Ampudia, command- 
ing the Mexican forces at Matamoras, immediately notified General 
Taylor that this was an act of war upon Mexican soil, and demanded that 
he should " break up his camp and retire beyond the Neuces " within 
twenty-four hours. Taylor replied that he was acting in accordance with 
the orders of his government, which was alone responsible for his conduct, 
and that he should maintain the position he had chosen. He pu.-^hed 
forward the work on his fortifications with energy, and kept a close 
watch upon the Mexicans. Neither commander was willing to take the 
responsibility of beginning the war, and Ampudia, notwithstanding his 
threat, remained inactive. His course did not satisfy his government, 
and he was removed, and General Arista ajipointed in his place. Arista 
at once began hostilities by interposing detachments of his army between 
Taylor's force and his depot of supplies at Point Isabel. On the 26th of 
April Taylor sent a party of sixty dragoons under Captain Thornton to 
reconnoitre the Mexican lines. The dragoons were surprised with a loss 
of sixteen killed. The remainder were made prisoners, and Thornton 
alone escaped. This was the first blood shed in the war with Mexico. 

A day or two later, being informed by Captain Walker, who with his 
Texan Rangers was guarding the line of communication with Point 
Isabel, that the Mexicans were threatening the latter place in heavy 
force, General Taylor left Major Brown with three hundred men to hold 
the fort, and marched to Point Isabel to relieve that place. He agreed 
with Major Brown that if the fort should be attacked or hard pressed, the 
latter should notify him of his danger by firing heavy signal guns at cer- 
tain intervals. He reached Point Isabel, twenty miles distant, on the 
2d of May without meeting any opposition on the march. 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 



701 



General Arista, attributing Taylor's withdrawal to fear, determined to 
capture the fortification on the opposite side of the river. On the 3d of 
May he opened fire upon it from a heavy battery at Matamoras, and sent 
a large force across tlic Rio Grande, which took position in the rear of the 
fort and intrenched themselves there. In the face of this double attack 
the little garrison defended themselves bravely, but at length Major 
Brown fell mortally wounded. The command devolved upon Captain 
Hawkins, who now felt himself justified in warning Taylor of his danger, 
and began to fire the signal guns agreed upon. 

Taylor was joined at Point Isabel by a small detachment, and his force 




BATTLE OF PALO ALTO. 



was increased to twenty-three hundred men. He listened anxiously for 
the booming of the signal guns from the fort on the Rio Grande, and at 
length they were heard. He knew that the need of assistance must be 
great, as the little band in the fort had held out so long without calling 
for help, and he at once set out to join them. He left Point Isabel on 
the 7th of May, taking with him a heavy supply train. The steady firing 
of the signal guns from Fort Brown (for so the work was afterwards 
named in honor of its gallant commander) urged the army to its greatest 
exertions. 

On the 8tli of May the Mexican army, six thousand strong, was dis- 
covered holding a strong position in front of a chaparral, near the small 
stream called the Palo Alto, intending to dispute the advance of the 
Americans. Taylor promptly made his dispositions to attack them. His 



702 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



troops were ordered to drink from the little stream and to fill their can- 
teens. The train was closed up, and the line was formed with Major 
Ringgold's light battery on the right, Duncan's battery on the left, and a 
battery of eighteen-pounders in the centre. The artillery was thrown 
well in front of the infantry, and the order was given to advance. The 
Mexicans at once opened fire with their batteries, but the distance was too 
great to accomplish anything. The American batteries did not replv 
until they had gotten within easy range, when they opened a fire the 
accuracy and rapidity of which astonished the Mexicans. Their lines 
were broken, and they fell back, and the Americans advanced steadily 




DEATH OF MAJOR RINGGOLD. 



through the chaparral, which had been set on fire by the discharge of 
cannon, until a new position within close range was reached. Paying no 
attention to the Mexican artillery, the American guns directed their fire 
upon the enemy's infantry and cavalry, and broke them again and again. 
The battle lasted five hours and ceased at nightfall. It was fought 
entirely by the artillery of the two armies, and was won by the superior 
handling and precision of the American guns. The loss of the Mexicans 
was four hundred killed and wounded ; that of the Americans nine killed 
and forty-four wounded. Early in the battle Major Ringgold was mor- 
tally wounded, and died a little later. He was regarded as one of the 
most gifted officers of the army, and to him was chiefly due the precision 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO 703 

and rapklity of movement acquired by the " flying artillery " of the 
American army, which were so successfully tested during this war. 

The American army encamped on the battle-field, and the next morning, 
May 9th, as the Mexicans had retreated, leaving their dead unburied, 
resumed its advance. In the afternoon the Mexicans were discovered 
occupying a much stronger position than they had held at Palo Alto. 
Their line was formed behind a ravine, called Resaca de la Palma, or the 
Dry River of Palms. Their flanks were protected by the thick chaparral, 
and their artillery was throAvn forward beyond the ravine and protected 
by an intrenchment, and swept the road by which the Americans must 
advance. During the night fresh troops had joined the Mexican army, 
and had increased their force to seven thousand men. 

Taylor formed his line Avitli his artillery in the centre. The artillery 
was ordered to advance along the road commanded by the Mexican bat- 
tery, and the infantry were directed to move as rapidly as possible 
through the chaparral, and drive out the Mexican sharpshooters. The 
infantry executed this order in handsome style, but the chaparral was so 
dense that each man was obliged to act for himself as he forced his way 
through it. The Mexican battery was handled with great skill and cool- 
ness, and held the centre in check until some tijue after the infantry 
had forced their way close to the edge of the ravine. At this juncture 
Captain May was ordered to charge the Mexican guns, and started down 
the road at a trot. As he reached the position of the American artillery. 
Lieutenant Ridgely suggested that May should halt and allow him to 
draw the Mexican fire. Ridgely opened a rapid fire on the Mexican 
guns, which answered immediately. At the same moment May dashed 
at the Mexican battery with his dragoons, and reached it before the 
cannoneers could reload their pieces. They were sabred at their guns, 
and the battery was carried. Captain May himself made a prisoner of 
General La Vega, as the latter was in the act of discharging one of the 
guns. Leaving the battery to the American inftmtry which now hurried 
forward to secure it, the dragoons charged the INIexican centre and broke 
it. The whole American line then advanced rapidly ; the Mexicans gave 
way, and were soon flying in utter confusion towards the Rio Grande, 
which they crossed in such haste that many of them were drowned in the 
attempt to reach the Mexican shore. 

- General Arista, the Mexican commander, fled alone from the field, 
leaving all his private and official papers behind him. The Americans 
lost one hundred and twenty-two men killed and wounded ; the Mexicans 
twelve hundred. * All the Mexican artillery, two thousand stand of arms, 
and six hundred mules were captured by the Americans. 



701 HISTORY OF TTTE UNTTED STATES. 

(Jcnoral Taylor advanccMl from tho hattlo-fichl to l^'orl Thrown, the p^r- 
risoii <)(' wliicli liud liriinl fli(> <lis(,:iii(, roar of (lie IkiUIc, and luul mvii tlie 
Hi^lit of the MfxicaiiH ucroHs tho liio (irajMh;. 

'I'ho <h'f(!at of tho MoxioaiiH at Palo Alto and Ucsaca (h- la Palnia had 
prcatly <li.sh('ar((>iH(d them. Tiu-y not oidy ai)aiid<ni('<l their iiilcntioii to 
iiiva(U' TcxaM, l)iit ^avc* ii]> all hoju; of holding the Rio (Jrandc frontier. 
On the night of Iho 17th of May their army evaenaled Matamoras, and 
retreated upon Monton^y. On tho 18th tho American army oroKHod ihe 
Uio (Jrande, and oeenjjied Matamoras. (icneral Taylor Kcrnpnlonslv 
n's|)eeted the nninicipal laws of tlK^own, and protected the citizens in tho 
exercise of their civil and religions privileges. All snp|»lies ncc(le<l hy 
the troops were |Mircliased at a liberal price, and no |»lnii(lci-ing or disorder 
was allowed or atlem])ted. 

in the meantimo tho news of the attack upon the dragoons under Cap- 
tain Thornton had reached the United Slates, and with it the rnmo!' that 
(he American army was confronted on the Texan Hido of tho liio (iran<lo 
hy a vastly sn|>erior force of Mexicans, and that il.s dostruclioji was 
almost certain. Th(» pnvsidont Hont a Hpo(;ial moHHago to CongrosH on tho 
11th of May, in which h(» informed that body that " war (>xisted by the 
act of Mexico," and called tipon (^)ngress to recognize the stato of war, 
and III provide for its support by appropriating the ncc^ossary fluids, mid 
to :iiilliori/.e him to call for volnnleei's. Under the impression that 
tlie |)<'riloiis sidialion of 'i'avlor's army made instant action necessary, 
Congress ajipropriated ten millions of dollars for the prose<'nlion of (ho 
war, and authorized tli(> president to accejit the services (tf fifty thousand 
volnnleers. One-lialf of this force was to be mustered into the servic(> ; 
the reinnindcr held as a reserv(\ The prcHldent'H call was respondod to 
with enthusiasm all over the land, and in the course* of a tew weeks two 
hundred thousand volunteers offered their services. (JeiK-ral Wool was 
ordere<l to nnustor tho voluntoors accepted by the president into the 
rter\ice. 

l*rc|)aratious were made by the American govornmont to ])ros(>cute the 
war with vigor. At the suggestion of (icneral Scott a coni|)relicnsive |)lan 
of operations was adopted. Two s(>parate expeditions were to be organ- 
ized. One, called the "Army of the West," was to assemble at P'ort 
licavenworlh, on the Missouri, to cross the plains and the ilocky moun- 
tains, and to ujvade an<l coiKpicr tli(> northern jirovincofl of Mexico. A 
powerful llect was to be siMit around Cape Horn to attack the Mexican 
ports on the Pacific and cooperate with the Army of tho West. A 
nooond force, called tin' "Army of tho Centre," was to advance from 
Texaa to the city of Mexico, and, if it was thought beat, was to co- 



TUl<: WAR WITH MEXICO. 



706 



operate with the ''Ariiiy of 0!cii})ati()n " under (icneial Taylor. As wo 
hIuiII hoc, tli(! |)liii) was aCti'rwiinl.s modilicd, and (lie udviUHU' upon the 
Mexican eapitaJ wjih niailc Iroiu V'ora Cru/ on Llic; (juli' of Mexico. 

'Towards the hust of May tijc newa of the brilliant vi(^toricH on the Rio 
(irande was received at VV:tsliin<rton, and wjih hailed with nijoicMnH^s 
throujjjhont the Union. (Jn the .'iOlh of May ('onjrress conferred upon 
(Jcneral Taylor the; rank of niajor-general hy brevet as a reward for liiH 
victories. 

On the 2.']d of May llx^ Mcxicran (.\)n^resH formally (hjclarcd war 
against the United States, and the call of the Mexican government lor 



:'^' 



.!,*')■« 



,1--'f»*'<?^^^>SHf^„ 




iJ**-.^,|rijj^:A,^^ 



KT. .KHKl'll, Ml.SHDlJIU. 

volunteers for tlu^ (h^fcncc! of that country was reHj)()nd<'d lo with 
enthusiasm. 

Thanks to the <Mier^y of (icncrul Wool, twelve llioiisand voliiiiteerfl 
wen; mustered into tlic. service of the lInit(M| Slales in six wf'cks. Nino 
tJionsand of thes(; wen; sent forward rapidly lo reinfoivH! (Jcneral Taylor, 
and with the remainder Wool marched to San Antonio, in 'i'<'xas, (o 
await further onhu's. 

(jcneral 'I'aylor had been delaye<l al Malamoras for three monllis by 
the weakness (>f his force;; but as soon as reinlinvuMncuils reached liim, Ik; 
prepared to advance into the int(;rior, I lis tirst mov(;inent was <lirecl(!d 
against the; (;ity of Monterey, the capital of the Stale of New Leon, when; 
the Mexicans had collected an army. His army luimbcred about niiu; 
thousand men of all arms, and of these a little over tw(;nty-three hundred 
men were detached for garrisons, leaving an active lc)rce of six thousand 
45 



706 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

six hundred and seventy men. On the 20th of August General Worth's 
division marched from Mataraoras, and a fortnight later General Taylor 
set out from the Rio Grande with the main army. On the 9th of Sep- 
tember the American forces encamped within three miles of Monterey. 

Monterey is an old Spanish city, nearly three hundred years old. It 
lies in a beautiful valley, and is about two miles in length by one mile in 
breadth. The mountains approach close to it, and protect it on all sides 
but two. On one of these sides it is approached from the northeast by 
the road from Matamoras, and on the other by a rocky gorge through 
which runs the road connecting the city with Saltillo. The city has three 
large plazas or public squares, and is built like the towns of old Spain, 
with narrow streets, and houses of stone one story in height, Avith strong 
walls of masonry rising about three feet above the flat roofs. The city 
itself is enclosed with strong walls, intended for artillery. Every means 
of defence had been exhausted by the Mexicans. Forty -two heavy cannon 
were mounted on the city walls, the streets were barricaded, and the flat 
roofs and stone walls of the houses were arranged for infantry. Each 
house was a separate fortress. A strongly fortified building of heavy 
stone, called the Bishop's palace, stood on the side of a hill without the 
city walls, and on the o])p()site side of the city were redoubts held by in- 
fantry and artillery. The command of Monterey and its defences was 
held by General Ampudia, and the garrison consisted of ten thousand 
veteran troops. 

Ten days were passed by the American army in reconnoitring the 
town, its peculiar situation rendering such movements very difficult. On 
the afternoon of the 20th of September General AVorth was ordered to 
turn the hill on which stood the Bishop's palace, gain the Saltillo road, 
and carry the works in that direction. This movement was successfully 
accomplished ; but in order to gain the desired position Worth was 
obliged to cut a new road across the mountain. His troops bivouacked 
for the night just out of range of the enemy's guns. During the night 
the Americans built a battery to command the Mexican citadel. 

On the morning of the 21st of September the American artillery 
opened fire upon Monterey, and the infantry advanced to carry the Mexi- 
can works. The brigade of General Quitman carried a strong Avork in 
the lower part of the town, and at the same time General Butler, with a 
part of his division, forced his way into the town on the right. While 
these operations were in progress General Worth's division seized the 
Saltillo road, and secured the enemy's line of retreat. Several fortified 
positions along the heights were also carried, and their guns turned upon 
the Bishop's palace. 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 707 

During the night of the 21st the Mexicans evacuated the lower part 
of the city, but kept their hold upon the citadel and the upper town, 
from which they maintained a vigorous fire upon the American positions. 
At daybreak, on the 22d, Worth's division, advancing in the midst of a 
fog and rain, carried the crest commanding the Bishop's palace, and by 
noon had captured the palace itself. The guns of the captured works 
were now directed upon the enemy in the city below. 

The enemy had fortified the city so thoroughly that the Americans 
were not only forced to carry the various barricades in succession, but 
were compelled to break through the walls of the fortified houses, and 
advance from house to house in this way. One or two field-pieces were 
drawn up to the flat roofs, and the Mexicans were driven from point to 
point during the 22d and 23d, until they were confined to the citadel and 
plaza. On the night of the 23d General Ampudia opened negotiations, 
and on the morning of the 24th surrendered the town and garrison to 
General Taylor. The Mexican soldiers were allowed to march out with 
the honors of war. General Taylor was induced to grant this concession 
by his generous desire to spare the people of the city the sufferings which 
would have been caused by a prolonged defence. 

The Mexican commander represented to General Taylor that the 
Mexican government was sincerely anxious for peace, and that it would 
respond favorably to any fair propositions upon this subject that might 
be laid before it. In order to afford an opportunity for such an arrange- 
ment of the war, and influenced by the scarcity of provisions — the 
American army having at the time but ten days' rations — Taylor agreed 
to a cessation of hostilities for eight weeks, subject to the consent of his 
government. The Mexican army withdrew from Monterey, and an 
American garrison, under General Worth, as governor, occupied the city. 
The main body of Taylor's army then went into camp at Walnut Springs, 
three miles distant from Monterey. The Americans lost four hundred 
and eighty-eight men, killed and wounded, in the storming of Monterey. 
The Mexican loss was much greater. 

In the meantime the government of the United States had been led 
into a terrible blunder by its desire to bring the war to a speedy close. 
Santa Anna, who had been driven out of Mexico by one of the numer- 
ous revolutions in that country, was living in exile at Havana. He 
declared that if he were allowed to return to Mexico he would use his 
influence in favor of peace, and would secure a treaty for the accomplish- 
ment of that end. He was sure he could carry out this scheme, and only 
needed to be sustained by the United States government with the sum of 
three or four millions of dollars to enable him to get control of the 



708 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Mexican government. President Polk was completely duped by the 
" illustrious exile," and not only urged Congress to appropriate the sum 
of two millions of dollars to assist Santa Anna, but issued an order to 
Commodore Conner, commanding the American fleet in the Gulf, to per- 
mit Santa Anna to pass through his lines and return to Mexico. Santa 
Anna at once availed himself of this order, and landing at Vera Cruz 
hastened into the interior. 

Once in Mexico Santa Anna thought no more of his promises to Presi- 
dent Polk. He set to Avork to gain possession of the government, but 
not with a view to making peace. He issued a manifesto, in which he 
called on his countrymen to rally under his banner for the defence of their 
homes and country. He assured them of his undying hatred of the 
" perfidious Yankees," pointed to the reverses of the government of 
Paredes, and declared that" he alone could save the country. His appeals 
were successful. The Mexican people rose at his call, deposed Paredes, 
and elected Santa Anna president. The repeated defeats of their armies 
were forgotten in the new enthusiasm which Santa Anna's presence and 
proclamations aroused, and in the course of a few months that leader 
found himself at the head of a well-equipped army of twenty thousand 
men, which was being steadily increased by the arrival of fresh recruits. 

In the meantime General Wool, with a reinforcement of three thousand 
troops, had marched from San Antonio to join General Taylor. He had 
readied Monclova, about seventy miles from Monterey, when he heard 
of the capture of the latter place by Taylor. His route had lain across 
an uninhabited and desert region, in which the troops suffered greatly for 
want of water. He was directed by General Taylor to take position in a 
fertile district in the province of r>urango, where he could obtain sup- 
plies for his ovtxi command as well as for the army at Monterey. General 
Wool conciliated the people of the region occuj)ied by him by protecting 
them in their liberties and pro}>erty, and paying fair prices for all the 
supplies furnished by them. The Mexicans were far better treated by 
the conquering army than they had been by their own rulers. 

In accordance with orders received from Washington General Taylor 
put an end to the armistice on the 13th of November. On the 15th 
General Worth, with seven hundred men, occupied Saltillo, the capital of 
the State of Coaliuila. Leaving a garrison in INIonterey, under General 
Butler, Taylor moved towards the coast to attack Tampico. Upon reach- 
ing Victoria, the capital of the State of Tamaulipas, he learned that 
Tampico had surrendered to the United States squadron, under Commo- 
dore Conner, on the 14th of November. Victoria was occupied on the 
29th of December. The troops under General Wool were now ordered 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 709 

to join General Worth at Saltillo, and General Taylor prepared to resume 
his forward movement into the heart of Mexico. At this juncture his 
offensive operations were suddenly brought to a close. 
■ The plan of the invasion adopted by the government of the United 
States had been so far modified that the " Army of the Centre/' under 
General Winfield Scott, was ordered to capture Vera Cruz, the principal 
Mexican port on the Gulf, and advance upon the city of ^Mexico from 
that point. Troops in sufficient numbers could not be drawn from the 
United States, and General Scott, as commander-in-chief, decided to draw 
the desired number of men from Taylor's army. The order for the with- 
drawal of these troops reached General Taylor just as he was about to 
resume active operations. Taylor was keenly disaj^pointed at being thus 
condennied to inactivity, but like the true soldier that he was at once 
obeyed the orders sent him. Generals Worth and Quitman with their 
divisions, and the greater portion of the volunteers who had come out 
with General Wool, were at once despatched to the Gulf coast to join the 
expedition against Vera Cruz. The withdrawal of these troops left 
General Taylor with a very small force. During the month of January 
and tlie early part of February, 1847, reinforcements from the United 
States increased his army to about six thousand men. A portion of these 
was placed in garrison at ]\Ionterey and Saltillo, leaving General Taylor 
about forty-seven hundred effective troops, of whom but six hundred 
were regulars. 

Early in January, 1847, General Scott sent Lieutenant Richey with 
an escort of cavalry to convey a despatch to General Taylor. Lieutenant 
Richey was killed by the Mexicans on the way, and his despatciies were 
forwarded to Santa Anna, who learned from them the American plan for 
the invasion of JNIexico. He at once resolved upon his own course. 
Relying upon the strength of Vera Cruz to hold Scott's army in check, 
he determined to attack General Taylor at once, a^d crush him. By the 
most energetic and despotic measures he silenced the opposition which 
prevailed in the city of Mexico, and obtained both men and money for 
his attempt. On the 26th of January he began his march upon Saltillo 
with twenty-three thousand well-armed and equipped men, and twenty 
pieces of artillery. 

The Mexican array had reached San Louis Potosi, about sixty miles 
south of Saltillo, when General Wool, commanding at the latter place, 
learned of their approach. He at once notified General Taylor, who 
advanced with his whole effective force from Monterey to Saltillo. As 
the enemy continued to approach, Taylor left his stores at Saltillo, and 
moved rapidly to Agua Nueva, eighteen miles beyond Saltillo, on the 



710 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

road to San Louis Potosi. His design was to secure the southern end of 
the pass through the Sierra Xevada. With this pass in the possession of 
the Americans the Mexican army would be compelled to fight at once, as 
the country in their rear was incapable of supplying them with provi- 
sions. The reports of the reconnoitring parties made it evident that the 
Mexican force was vastly superior to that of the Americans, and General 
Taylor also learned that a strong body of Mexican cavalry, under Gen- 
eral Minon, was some distance to the left of his position, which could be 
turned. A daring reconnoissance was made by Major M'Culloch, of the 
Texan Rangers. He entered the Mexican camp, passed through it, and 
obtained accurate information of their numbers, and regained his own 
lines in safety. 

Upon receipt of M'Culloch's intelligence, and the report of the effort 
of the Mexican cavalry to turn his left, General Taylor fell back from 
Agua Nueva to a new position, eleven miles higher up the valley, on the 
21st of February. 

The withdrawal of the American army was made in good time. Santa 
Anna had sent Minon with the cavalry to gain the rear of Taylor's 
army, and at the same time endeavored, by a forced march of fifty miles, 
to surprise General Taylor at Agua Nueva. Upon arriving in front of 
that place, he found to his astonishment and disappointment that Taylor 
had abandoned his position. Interpreting this movement as a flight, the 
Mexican commander pushed on in pursuit of his adversary, and came up 
with him on the morning of the 22d of February. 

The position chosen by General Taylor was at the north end of the 
valley known as Las Angosturas, or the Narrows, and near the hacienda 
or plantation known as Buena Vista, from which latter place the battle 
took its name. It was one of great strength. Its flanks were protected 
by the mountains which rose abruptly from the defile, and the ground in 
front was broken by niynerous ravines and gullies. The American forces 
were disposed so as to secure every advantage afforded by the nature of 
the ground, and the road through the pass — the key to the whole position 
— was swept by the fire of the artillery. The troops were in high spirits. 
It was Washington's birthday, and this incident was generally com- 
mented upon as a good omen. 

About noon a Mexican officer brought a note to General Taylor, in 
which Santa Anna demanded the surrender of the American array. This 
demand was refused, and skirmishing at once began. During the after- 
noon Santa Anna sent a force under General Ampudia to ascend the 
mountains and turn the American left. This brought on severe skirmish- 
ing in this quarter, but nothing definite was accomplished during the 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 711 

afternoon. Late in the afternoon the Mexican cavalry under General 
Minon, which had passed the mountains, appeared in the plains north of 
Saltillo. Minon was ordered to halt in the position he had gained and 
await the result of the battle of the next day at Buena. Vista. His 
appearance caused great anxiety to General Taylor, who hastened to 
Saltillo with reinforcements after nightfall, as he feared Minon would 
seek to capture that place. 

During the night of the 22d Santa Anna reinforced the column under 
Ampudia, and opened the battle at daybreak on the 23d of February, by 
endeavoring to turn the American left. A little later he opened fire from 
his artillery, and moved forward three powerful columns of attack against 
the American centre. The movement of the column of Ampudia was 
successful, the left of the American line was completely 'turned, but the 
attack upon the centre was repulsed by the splendid fire of the American 
batteries. 

At this moment General Taylor arrived upon the field from Saltillo, 
bringing with him May's dragoons, several companies of Mississippi 
riflemen, and a portion of the Arkansas cavalry, embracing every man 
that could be spared from Saltillo. He had come at a critical moment, 
for the turning of his left flank by Ampudia had neutralized the natural 
advantage of the position. Many of the troops were in full retreat upon 
Buena Yista, and nothing but the courage and constancy of those who 
vet remained firm could save the day. By great exertions Colonel 
Jefferson Davis rallied the greater part of his own regiment — the Missis- 
sippi rifles — and a part of the Second Indiana, and by a rapid advance 
drove back a strong Mexican column in his front. He had scarcely 
accomplished this when he was assailed by a body of one thousand 
splendid Mexican lancers. Davis quickly formed his own men and the 
Second and Third Indiana in the shape of the letter V, with the opening 
towards the enemy, and posted Sherman's battery on his left. The line 
thus formed awaited in silence the approach of tlie Mexican cavalry, 
which came on at a gallop. As they drew near the opening of this 
terrible V the Mexicans, who had expected the Americans to fire, when 
they intended to dash in upon them before the men could reload, were 
astonished at the silence with which they were received, and slackened 
their pace until they came to a walk within eighty yards of the opening 
of the angle. In an instant Davis gave the command, and his men took 
deliberate aim. Then a volley flashed from the rifles and swept away the 
head of the Mexican column. The next moment Sherman's guns 
opened upon the cavalry with grape and canister. Under this combined 
fire horses and lancers fell in great numbers, forming a barricade over 



712 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



which the enemy could not pass, and the Mexicans, seized with a panic, 
wheeled about and fled in confusion. 

While this attack was in progress the Mexicans sent a body of cavalry 
under Torrejon to seize the plantation of Buena Vista. Torrejon made 
his attack with vigor, but was driven back by the Kentucky and 
Arkansas volunteers, assisted by Colonel May's dragoons. Colonel 
Yell, of the Arkansas regiment, was killed and Torrejon was wounded in 
this part of the engagement. 

During all this while a steady cannonade had been in progress along 
the centre of the American line. The Mexicans endeavored to silence 
the American batteries, but without success. 

Santa Anna now sent a strong force to pass around the American left 




DEFEAT OF THE MEXICAN RIGHT AVING AT BUENA VISTA. 

and gain the rear of Taylor's line; and this force ^vas joined by a part 
of Torrejon's command, which was retreating from Buena Vista. The 
movement was detected by Colonel IMay, who met it with his cavalry 
and several companies of Illinois and Indiana volunteers. General 
Taylor sent to his assistance all the cavalry he could spare and Bragg's 
battery. The retreat of the Mexicans, who had pas-sed beyond the 
American left, Avas cut off, and they were driven in confusion to the base 
of the mountain, while Brngg's guns showered canister upon them and 
increased the panic which had set in among them. It seemed that the 
whole Mexican column, numbering five thousand men, must surrender 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 



713 



or be exterminated. In this emergency the Mexican commander raised 
the white flag, and asked for a parley, professing to ha.ve a message from 
Santa Anna to General Taylor, and the American ^uns ceased firing. 
Before the trick was discovered the Mexican right escaped under the 
cover of the flag of truce by passing along the base of the mountain to a 
point from which they rejoined their main array. 

Santa Anna now brought up his reserves, and late in the afternoon 
made a determined attack upon the American right, which had been 
greatly weakened to assist the troops engaged in repelling the attack 
on the left. The Mexican column, twelve thousand strong, easily 
drove back the few scattered volunteers that disputed their advance. 




GENERAL TAYLOR THANKING CAPTAIN BRAGG AT BUENA VISTA. 

and captured O'Brien's battery, which was without infantry support, but 
not until every man had been killed or wounded. Washington's guns 
now opened upon the enemy, and succeeded in holding their cavalry in 
check for a moment. The Mexican infantry pushed on, firing as they 
advanced, and it was evident that the crisis of the battle was at hand. 
The battle had been going on for eight hours, and the American troops 
were greatly exhausted by the unusual exertions they had been subjected 
to ; while the Mexican column, consisting mainly of their reserves, was 
fresh, and four times as strong as the whole American army. Keenly 
alive to his danger Taylor exerted himself in every possible way to bring 
up his scattered regiments in time to save the position. The flying 
artillery of Captain Bragg was the first to reach the field. There was 



714 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



not an infantry soldier near to support him, and the salvation of the armv 
depended upon Bragg's eiforts. He unlimbered his guns within a few 
yards of the rapidly advancing Mexicans, and poured in discharge after 
discharge with a rapidity which seemed wonderful. The Mexican 
advance was checked, and Sherman now came up and opened fire from 
his guns upon them. Washington's battery a little later joined in the 
fire. The Mississippi and Indiana volunteers now reached the field, 
and made a spirited attack upon the enemy's right flank. Under this 
terrible fire the Mexicans wavered for a few moments, and then broke in 
confusion and fled from the field. 

The Mexicans made no further attack during the day, and that night 
Santa Anna, abandoning his wounded, and leaving his dead unburied, 
retreated rapidly towards Agua Nueva. The American loss in the battle 

of Buena Vista was two hundred and sixty- 
seven killed, and four hundred and fifty-six 
wounded. That of the Mexicans was over 
two thousand killed and wounded, including 
many officers of high rank. Taylor followed 
the Mexican army on the 24th as far as 
Agua Nueva, and collecting their wounded, 
removed them to Saltillo, where they were 
attended by the American surgeons. 

The victory of Buena Vista was decisive 
FREMONT. of the war. It saved the valley of the Rio 

Grande from invasion by a victorious Mexican 
army, and enabled the expedition of General Scott against Vera Cruz 
to proceed without delay to the acconiplishment of its objects. It also 
greatly disheartened the Mexican peo})lc, and during the remainder 
of the year Taylor's army had nothing to do but to hold the country 
it occupied. 

General Taylor remained at Agua Nueva until he was satisfied that no 
further trouble was to be apprehended from the Mexican army, and then 
returned by easy stages to his camp at Walnut Springs, near Monterey, 
which he reached by the last of March. In the summer of 1847, leaving 
General Wool in command of the army. General Taylor returned to the 
United States, where he was received with distinguished honor. 

While these events were going on in Mexico Captain John C. Fremont, 
of the United States army, had been engaged in ]>rosecuting the discoveries 
in the Rocky mountain region, which he had begun in 1843, in which 
year he had explored the valley known as the Great Basin, the region 
of the Great Salt lake, and the valleys of the Sacramento and San 




THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 



715 



Joaquin, on tlie Pacific coast. In May, 1845, Fremont set out on his 
third expedition, and passed the winter in the valley of the San Joaquin, 
then Mexican territory. In May, 1846, he received orders from Wash- 
ington to move into California and counteract any foreign scheme for 
securing that Territory, and to conciliate the good-will of the inhabitants 
toward the United States. Fremont had but sixty men with him, but 
he at once moved into the valley of the Sacramento. The Mexican 




POINT ARENA lilGHTHOUSE — COAST OF CALIFOBNIA. 



inhabitants were seriously considering at this time whether they should 
massacre the American settlers, or whether, in the event of a war between 
Mexico and the United States, they should place California under the 
protection of Great Britain. Fremont was informed of these plots, and, 
though no war existed as yet between the two republics, he also learned 
that the Mexican General De Castro was advancing to drive him out of 
California. The American settlers flocked to Fremont's camp, with their 
arms and horses, and he soon found himself at the head of a considerable 



71 G HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

force. He was thus enabled to repulse De Castro's attack, and, after a 
few conflicts, to drive him from Upper California. By July, 1846, the 
Mexican authority Avas entirely overthrown in Upper California, and the 
flag of independence was raised by the settlers. 

The American squadron in the Pacific was commanded by Commodore 
81oat, who was ordered by the secretary of the navy to seize the port of 
San Fraricisco as soon as he was reliably informed of the existence of war 
between the two countries, and to occu}\v or blockade such other JNIexican 
ports as his force would permit. In the early summer of 1846 the 
American squadron was lying at Mazatlan. A British squadron under 
Admiral Seymour also lay in the harbor, and the American commodore 
became convinced that the British admiral was watching him for the 
purpose of interfering with his designs upon California. He therefore 
resolved to get rid of him, and put to sea and sailed to the westward, as 
if making for the Sandwich islands. The British fleet followed him 
promptly, but in the night the commodore tacked and sailed up the coast' 
to Monterey, while the British continued their course to the islands. 
Sloat was coldly received at Monterey by the authorities. Hearing of 
the action of Fremont and the American settlers, the commodore a few 
days later took possession of the town, and sent a courier to Fremont, 
who at once joined him with his mounted men. California was now 
taken possession of in the name of the United States. 

About the middle of July Commodore Stockton arrived in the harbor, 
and succeeded Commodore Sloat, who returned home, in the conmiand 
of the squadron. The next day Admiral Seymour arrived at Monterey. 
He saw he was too late, and quietly submitted to what he could not pre- 
vent, though he was greatly astonished to find the town in possession of 
the American forces. On the 17th of August Fremont and Stockton 
occupied Los Angeles, the capital of Upper California. 

In June, 1846, General Kearney, with the "Army of the West," num- 
bering eighteen hundred men, marched from Fort Leavenworth, on the 
Missouri, across the plains to Santa Fc, the capital of the Mexican prov- 
ince of New Mexico. After a march of nearly one thousand miles, he 
occupied Santa F^ ou the 18th of August. Leaving a garrison at Santa 
Fe, Kearney pushed on towards California, intending to conquer that 
province also ; but upon reaching the Gila river, he was met by the 
fe-mous hunter Kit Carson, who informed him of the conquest of Cali- 
fornia by Fremont and Stockton. Kearney thereupon sent two com- 
panies of dragoons under Major Sumner back to Santa Fe, and with the 
remainder continued his march to the Pacific coast. 

Upon leaving Santa Fe, Kearney had instructed Colonel Doniphan to 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 



Ill 



invade the country of the Navajo^ Indians and compel tlicm to make 
peace with the Americans. Doniphan set out in November, 184G, and 
crossing the mountains, wliich were covered with snow, succeeded in 
making a treaty witlx the Navajoes, by which they agreed to refrain from 
hostilities against the people of New Mexico. He then marched to tlie 
southeast to meet General Wool at Chihuahua. 

The inhabitants of New Mexico, encouraged by the absence of Doni- 
phan with so large a force, rose in revolt against the American forces, 
and murdered the American governor of the territory and several other 
officials on the 14th of January, 1847. Colonel Sterling Pries, com- 
manding the troops at Santa Fe, at once marched against the insurgents, 




SOUTHWEST FBOM SANTA FE. 

defeated them in two engagements, though they greatly outnumbered his 
force, and suppressed the rebellion. The insurgents obtained peace only 
by surrendering their leaders, several of whom were hanged by the 
Americans. 

Colonel Doniphan, in the meantime, had continued his march. His 
route lay through a barren region destitute of water or grass called the 
Jornado del Muerto — " The Journey of Death." He pressed forward 
with firmness through this terrible region, his men and animals suifering 
greatly on the march, and in the latter part of December entered the 
valley of the Kio Grande. With a force of eight hundred and fifty-six 
men he defeated over twelve hundred Mexicans at Brazito, on the 2Gth 



718 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



of December, 1846, and inflicted upon them a loss of nearly two hundred 
men ; losing only seven men himself. On the 28th he occupied El Paso, 
and there waited until his artillery could join him from Santa Fe. It 
arrived in the course of a month, and on the 8th of February he resumed 
his march to Chihuahua. On the 28th he encountered and defeated a 
Mexican force of over fifteen hundred men with ten pieces of artillery, at 
a pass of the Sacramento river, a tributary of the Rio Grande. The 
Mexicans lost over three hundred killed and a number wounded. The 
Americans lost two killed and several wounded. The Mexicans were 




EAST SIDE OF PLAZA — SANTA FE. 



completely routed, and left their artillery and all their train in the hands 
of the Americans. 

On the 1st of ISIarch, 1847, Doniphan entered Chihuahua, and raising 
the American flag on the citadel, took possession of the province in 
the name of the United States. Chihuahua was one of the largest cities 
in Mexico, and contained nearly thirty thousand inhabitants. Doni- 
phan's force was less than one thousand men. He had expected to find 
General Wool here, and failing to meet him was in utter ignorance of 
the positions of the American forces. His own position, in the midst of 
a hostile population, was perilous indeed^ but by his firm and just 



720 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

measures he conciliated the inhabitants. He remained at Chihuahua for 
six weeks vainly expecting the arrival of General Wool, and on the 27th 
of April evacuated that place, and set out for Saltillo, three hundred and 
fifty miles distant. He reached that place on the 22d of May. Remain- 
in o- there but three days, he continued his march to Monterey, from 
which he proceeded to Matamoras. The enlistments of his men being 
over, they were transported to New Orleans, and there mustered out of 
the service. 

Thus ended the most remarkable expedition on record. In less than 
one year a corps of volunteers, unused to the hardships of war, had 
marched over snow-covered mountains and across burning deserts, a dis- 
tance of over five thousand miles, over three thousand of which lay 
through an unknown and hostile country, abounding in enemies who 
might have crushed them at any moment had they rallied in sufficient 
force. 

In the meantime there had been new troubles in California. In 
August, 1847, Commodore Stockton appointed Captain Fremont military 
commandant of California, and soon after sailed from San Francisco to 
Monterey, from which place he continued his voyage to San Diego. 
Soon after the departure of the fleet, Fremont learned of a conspiracy to 
overthrow his government. By a forced march of one hundred and fifty 
miles he surprised and captured the insurgent leader, Don J. Pico. A 
court-martial sentenced him to death, but Fremont wisely spared his life, 
and Pico, in gratitude for this clemency, gave him his powerful aid in his 
efforts to tranquillize the country. 

General Kearney had continued liis march from New Mexico, encoun- 
tering great difficulties along the route, and suffering considerably from 
the repeated attacks of superior parties of the enemy. In December, 
1847, he reached San Pasqual, where he was obliged to halt. His situa- 
tion was desperate indeed ; his provisions were exhausted ; his horses had 
died on the march ; his mules were disabled ; a large number of his men 
were sick ; and his camp was surrounded by the enemy, who held every 
road by which he could escape. In this situation three men — Kit Car- 
son, Lieutenant Beales of the navy, and an Indian whose name is unfor- 
tunately unknown — volunteered to make their Avay through the enemy's 
lines to San Diego, thirty miles distant, and inform Commodore Stockton 
of Kearney's need of assistance. They succeeded in reaching San Diego, 
and the commodore promptly sent reinforcements to Kearney, which 
enabled him to drive off" the enemy and reach San DIogo in safety. 

Commodore Stockton now directed his attention to suppressing the insur- 
rection of the Mexican inhabitants of California, who had gotten posses- 



722 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



sion of Los Angeles. Driven to extremities they surrendered the town 
on condition that the Americans should respect the rights and property 
of the citizens. 

Commodore Stockton having been relieved of his civil functions by 
orders from Washington, General Kearney claimed the governorship of 
the territory by virtue of his rank. Fremont refused to recognize his 
authority, and was brought to trial before a court-martial, which found 
him guilty of disobedience of orders and mutiny, and sentenced him to 
be dismissed from the service. The sentence was remitted by the presi- 
dent on account of Fremont's meritorious and valuable services, but 
Fremont refused to accept the clemency of the president, and thus admit 





SACRAMENTO, CALIFORXIA, IN 1875. 

the justice of the sentence of the court, and resigned his commission. 
General Kearney remained in California as governor of that territory. 

The expedition under General Scott sailwl from New Orleans late in 
November, 1846, and rendezvoused at the island of Lobos, about one 
hundred and twenty-five miles north of Vera Cruz. The plan of opera- 
tions for this army was very simple — to capture Vera Cruz and march 
to the city of Mexico by the most direct route. At length everything 
being in readiness, the expedition sailed from Lobos island, and on the 
morning of the 9th of March, 1847, the army, thirteen thousand strong, 
landed without opposition at a point selected by General Scott and Com- 
modore Conner a few days before. The city and vicinity had been 
thoroughly reconnoitred, and the troops were at once marched to the 
positions assigned them by the commander-in-chief. 

Vera Cruz is the principal seaport of ^lexico, and contained at the 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO 723 

time of the siege about fifteen thousand inhabitants. It was strongly 
fortified on the land side, and towards the Gulf was defended by the 
Castle of San Juan de Ulloa, the strongest fortress in America, with the 
exception of Quebec. 

On the 10th of March the investment of the city was begun by General 
Worth, and the American lines were definitely established around the 
city for a distance of six miles. During the day, and for several days 
thereafter, bodies of Mexicans attempted to harass the besiegers, and a 
steady fire was maintained upon them by the guns of the castje and the 
city as they worked at their batteries. The American works being com- 
pleted, and their guns in position. General Scott summoned the city of 
Vera Cruz to surrender, stipulating that no batteries should be placed in the 
city to attack the castle unless the city should be fired upon by that work. 
The demand was refused by General Morales, who commanded both the 
city and the castle^ and at 4 o'clock on the 
afternoon of the 22d of March, the Ameri- 
can batterie-s opened fire upon the town. 
The bombardment was continued for five 
day^, and the fleet joined in the attack upon 
the castle. The city suffered terribly ; a 
number of the inhabitants were killed, and 
many buildings were set on fire by the 
shells. On the 27th the city and castle 
surrendered, and were promptly occupied 
by the Americans. Over five thousand 

prisoners and five hundred pieces of artil- ^^^^j,^ winpield scott. 
lery fell into the hands of the victors. 

The garrison were required to march out, lay down their arms, and wore 
then dismissed upon their parole. The inhabitants were protected in 
their civil and religious rights. The surrender was completed on the 
morning of the 29th. 

Having secured the city and the castle, General Scott placed a strong 
garrison in each, and appointed General Worth governor of Vera Cruz. 
He then prepared to march upon the city of Mexico, and on the 8th of 
April the advance division, under General Twiggs, set out from Vera 
Cruz towards Jalapa. Deducting the force left to garrison Vera Cruz, 
Scott's whole army amounted to but eighty-five hundred men. 

Santa Anna had not found the consequences to himself of the battle of 
Buena Vista as bad as he had expected. He had succeeded in persuad- 
ing his countrymen that he had not been defeated in that battle, but had 
simply retreated for want of provisions, and they had agreed to give him 




724 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



another trial. He had pledged himself to prevent the advance of the 
Americans to the capital, in the event of the fall of Vera Cruz, and with 
the aid of those of his countrymen who were willing to support him had 
quelled an insurrection at the capital, and had strengthened his power to 
a greater degree than ever. With a force of twelve thousand men he 
had taken position at Cerro Gordo, a mountain pass at the eastern edge 
of the Cordilleras, to hold the American army in check, and had fortified 
his position with great skill and care. 

General Twiggs halted before the Mexican position to await the arrival 
of General Scott, who soon joined him Avith the main army. The Mexi- 
can lines were carefully reconnoitred, and on the 18th of April General 




BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 



Scott, avoiding a direct attack, turned the enemy's left, seized the heights 
commanding their position, and drove them from their Avorks with a loss 
of thfce thousand prisoners and forty-three })ieces of artillery. Santa 
Anna mounted a mule, taken from his carriage, and fled, leaving the 
carriage and his private papers in the hands of the Americans. Besides 
their ])risoners, the Mexicans lost over one thousand men in killed and 
wounded. Scott's loss was four hundred and thirty-one killed and 
wounded. 

The brilliant victory of Cerro Gordo opened the way for the American 
army to Jalapa, which was occupied on the 19th of April. Continuing 
liis advance, General Scott captured the strong fortress of Perote, situated 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 



726 



on a peak of the Eastern Cordilleras, which was abandoned almost with- 
out a blow by its defenders, on the 22d of April. On the 15th of j\Iay 
Puebla, the second city of Mexico, containing eighty thousand inhabi- 
tants, was occupied. General Scott established his head-quarters at Puebla, 
and awaited reinforcements. The terms of the volunteers would expire 
in June, and they refused to re-enlist, as they were afraid to encounter 
the yellow fever, the scourge of the Mexican climate, the season for which 
was close at hand. They were returned to the United States, and Gen- 
eral Scott was forced to spend three months at Puebla in inactivity. The 
force he had with him was greatly weakened by sickness, and eighteen 
hundred men were in the hospitals of Puebla alone. 




AMERICAN ARMY ENTERING PUEBLA. 



While at Puebla, General Scott was ordered by the secretary of war 
to collect duties on merchandise entering the Mexican ports, and to apply 
the money thus obtained to the needs of the army. He was also ordered 
to levy contributions upon the Mexican people for the use of the troops. 
He refused to obey this order, declaring that the country through which 
he was moving was too poor to warrant impressments, and that such a 
measure would exasperate the Mexicans and cause them to refuse to 
supply the army at all. "Not a ration for man or horse," he said, 
" would be brought in except by the bayonet, which would oblige the 
troops to spread theinselves out many leagues to the right and left in search 



726 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of subsistence, and stop all military operations." He continued to buy- 
provisions for his army at tlie regular prices of the country, and by so 
doing greatly allayed the bitterness of feeling with which the Mexicans 
regarded the Americans. 

Another annoyance to which the commander-in-chief was subjected 
arose from the ill-advised action of Mr. N. P. Trist, who had been sent 
out to Mexico in the quality of peace commissioner. Soon after the 
capture of Vera Cruz, General Scott had suggested to the president the 
propriety of sending out commissioners to his head-quarters, who should 
be empowered to treat for peace when a suitable occasion should offer it- 
self. The president selected for this purjiose Mr. N. P. Trist, who had 
been United States consul at Havana, and who was acquainted >vith the 
Spanish language — a singular selection. Mr. Trist Mas furnished with 
the draft of a treaty carefully prepared in the state department at Wash- 
ington, and was intrusted with a desj)atch from Mr. Buchanan, the secre- 
tary of state, to the Mexican minister of foreign relations. He was 
instructed to communicate confidentially to General Scott and Commodore 
Perry both the treaty and his instructions. General Scott was informed 
of Trist's mission by the secretary of war, and was directed to suspend 
military operations until further orders, unless attacked. 

Mr. Trist reached Vera Cruz in due time, but instead of explaining 
his mission, as directed, to General Scott, he sent a note to the com- 
mander-in-chief from Vera Cruz, enclosing the letter of the secretary of 
war, and the sealed despatch to the Mexican minister, which he requested 
the general to forward to its destination. The letter of the secretary of 
war could not be understood by General Scott without the explanations 
Mr. Trist was directed to give, but failed to make. General Scott very 
properly resented the conduct of Trist as an attempt to degrade him by 
making him subordinate to that personage, and in his reply to him de- 
clared that the suspension of hostilities belonged to the commander in 
the field and not to the secretary of war a thousand miles away. Trist 
thereupon wrote to General Scott, giving a full explanation of his mis- 
sion, but did so in disrespectful terms. In conclusion he claimed to be 
the aid-de-camp of the president, and as such to possess the right to issue 
orders to the commander-in-chief. Scott referred the matter to the gov- 
ernment at Washington, maintaining in the meantime his independence 
of action as commanding general. In due time explanations came from 
Washington satisfactory to the general ; and Mr. Trist was sharply repri- 
manded by the secretary of state " for his presuming to command the 
general-in-chief." 

After his defeat at Cerro Gordo, Santa Anna repaired to Orizaba, 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 727 

where he organized a number of guerrilla bands to attack the American 
trains on the road between Vera Cruz and Scott's army. He then re- 
turned to the city of Mexico, where he was coldly received by the people. 
The affairs of the Mexican nation were in the most hopeless confusion, 
and the people were utterly disheartened. Their army on which they 
had depended for the defence of the road to the capital had been routed 
at Cerro Gordo, and there was no force in existence with which to stay 
the advance of the victorious Americans. Had General Scott been able 
to advance upon Mexico immediately after his occupation of Puebla, the 
city would have fallen at once, and the war have been brought to an 
immediate close. A number of leaders contested the supremacy at the 
capital, and the quarrels of these factions paralyzed the efforts of the 
government. The most capable of these leaders was Santa Anna, and 
his strong qualities naturally attracted to him the largest following. By 
his extraordinary energy he sujjpressed the opposition to him, secured the 
money he needed by forced loans from the people, and raised an army of 
twenty-five thousand men and sixty pieces of artillery, and fortified the 
city of Mexico. The three months' enforced delay of General Scott's 
army at Puebla gave him time to carry out these measures, and he en- 
deavored to gain still further advantages by opening negotiations secretly 
with Mr. Trist, and pretending to be anxious for peace. He declared 
that he needed money to enable him to act with freedom in arranging a 
treaty, and succeeded in getting about ten thousand dollars from the 
secret service fund at the disposal of General Scott ; but his designs were 
soon detected by the American commander, and the supply of money 
was discontinued. 

Reinforcements from the United States arrived at Puebla in July, and 
on the 7th of August General Scott resumed his advance on the city of 
Mexico, Avith a force increased to ten thousand men. The route lay 
through a beautiful upland country, abounding in water, and rich in the 
most picturesque scenery. The troops pressed on with enthusiasm, and on 
the 10th of August the summit of the Cordilleras was passed, and then 
almost from the very spot from which, more than three centuries before, 
the followers of Cortez looked down upon the halls of the Montezumas, 
the American army beheld the beautiful valley of Mexico stretching out 
for miles before them, with the city of Mexico lying in the midst, encir- 
cled by the strong works that had been erected for its defence. 

The passes on the direct road to the city had been well fortified and 
garrisoned by the Mexicans, but the country upon the flanks had been 
left unprotected, because Santa Anna deemed it utterly impossible for 
any troops to pas? over it and turn his position. El Peflon, the most 



728 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

formidable of these defences, was reconnoitred by tlie engineers, who re- 
ported that it would cost at least three thousand lives to carry it. Scott 
thereupon determined to turn El Pefion, instead of attacking it. The city 
and its defences were carefully reconnoitred, and it was discovered that the 
works on the south and west were weaker than those at any other points. 
General Scott now moved to the left, passed El Pefion on the south, and 
by the aid of a corps of skilful engineers moved his army across ravinei? 
and chasms which the Mexican commander had pronounced impassable, 
and had left unguarded. General Twiggs led the advance, and halted 
and encamped at Chalco, on the lake of the same name. Worth followed, 
and, passing Twiggs, encamped at the town of San Augustin, eight miles 
from the capital. 

As soon as Santa Anna found that the Americans had turned El 
Pefion, and had advanced to the south side of the city, he left that fortress 
and took position in the strong fort of San Antonio, which lay directly in 
front of Worth's new position. Northwest of San Antonio, and four 
miles from the city, lay the little village of Churubusco, which- had been 
strongly fortified by the Mexicans. A little to the west of San Augustin 
was the fortified camp of Contreras, with a garrison of about six thousand 
men. In the rear, between the camp and the city, was a reserve force of 
twelve thousand men. The whole number of Mexicans manning these 
defences was about thirty -five thousand, with at least one hundred pieces 
of artillery of various sizes. 

General Scott lost no time in moving against the enemy's works. 
General Persifer F. Smith was ordered to attack the entrenched camp at 
Contreras, while Shields and Pierce should move between the camp and 
Santa Anna at San Antonio, and prevent him from going to the assistance 
of the force at Contreras. At three o'clock on the morning of August 
20th, in the midst of a cold rain, Smith began his march, his men hold- 
ing on to each other, to avoid being separated in the darkness. He made 
his attack at sunrise, and in fifteen minutes had possession of the camp. 
He took three thousand prisoners and thirty-three pieces of cannon. 

The camp at Contreras having fallen, General Scott attacked the forti- 
fied village of Churubusco an hour or two later, and carried it after a 
desperate struggle of several liours. General Worth's division stormed 
and carried the strong fort of San Antonio, and General Twiggs cap- 
tured another important work. The Mexicans outnumbered their as- 
sailants three to one, and fought bravely. Their efforts were in vain, 
however, and late in the afternoon they were driven from their defences, 
and pursued by the American cavalry to the gates of the city. 

These two victories had been won over a force of thirtv thotisand 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO 



'29 



Mexicans by less than ten thousand Americans, and a loss of four thou- 
sand killed and wounded and three thousand prisoners had been inflicted 
upon the Mexican army. The American loss was eleven hundred men. 

Santa Anna retreated within the city, and on the 21st of August the 
American army advanced to within three miles of the city of Mexico. On 
the same day Santa Anna sent a flag of truce to General Scott, asking for 
a suspension of hostilities, in order to arrange the terms of a peace. The 
request was granted, and Mr. Trist was despatched to the city, and began 
negotiations with the Mexican commissioners. After protracted delays, 
designed to gain time, the Mexican commissioners declined the American 




STORMING OF CHAPULTEPEC. 



conditions, and proposed others which they knew would not be accepted. 
Thoroughly disgusted, Mr. Trist returned to the American camp, and 
brought with him the intelligence that Santa Anna had violated the 
armistice by using the time accorded him by it in strengthening his de- 
fences. Indignant at such treachery. General Scott at once resumed his 
advance upon the city. 

The Mexican capital was still defended by two powerful works. One 
of these was Molino del Rey, " The King's Mill," a foundry, where it 
was said the church bells were being cast into cannon ; the other was the 
strong castle of Chapultepec. General Scott resolved to make his first 
attack upon Molino del Rey, which was held by fourteen thousand 



730 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Mexicans. It was stormed and carried on the 8th of September, after a 
severe contest by Wortli's division, four thousand strong. This was re- 
garded as the liardest won victory of the war. The Mexicans were nearly 
four times as numerous as the Americans, and their position was one of 
very great strength. The Americans fought principally with their rifles 
and muskets, their artillery being of but little use to them, owing to the 
nature of the position. Their loss was seven hundred and eighty-seven 
killed and wounded — nearly one-fourth of the force engaged. 

The castle of Chapultepec stood on a steep and lofty hill, and could 
not be turned. If won at all, it must be by a direct assault. On the 
12th of September the American artillery opened fire upon it, and re- 
duced it almost to ruins. On the morning of the 13th a determined 
assault was made by the Americans, and the castle was carried after a 
sharp struggle. 

The fugitives from Chapultepec retreated to the city by the causeway 
leading to the Bebn gate, closely followed by Quitman's division. 
Worth's division was moved forward to attack the San Cosmo gate, 
while Quitman assailed the Belen gate. The defences of the causeways 
were taken in succession, and by nightfall the Belen and San Cosmo 
gates were in possession of the Americans after a hard fight for them. 
The troops slept on the ground they had won. 

During the night of the 13th Santa Anna, with the remains of his 
army, retreated from the city, leaving the authorities to make the best 
terms they could with the conquerors. The city officials presented them- 
selves before General Scott before daybreak, and proposed terms of 
capitulation. The general replied that the city was already in his power, 
and that he would enter it on his own terms. The next day, Septembei 
14th, 1847, the American army entered the city of Mexico, occupied the 
grand square, and hoisted the stars and stripes over the government 
buildings. 

Santa Anna retreated with four or five thousand men from the capital 
to the vicinity of Puobla, which was besieged by a Mexican force. The 
city coiftaincd eighteen hundred sick Americans, and was held by a 
garrison of five hundred men under Colonel Childs. This little force 
held out bravely until the arrival of a brigade from Vera Cruz, under 
General Lane, on its way to reinforce General Scott. Lane drove otf * 
Santa Anna's army, and relieved Puebla on the 8th of October. Ten 
days later Santa Anna was reported to be collecting another force at 
Alixo. Lane set out immediately for that place, reached it by a forced 
march, and dispersed the Mexicans beyond all hope of reunion. 

Immediately after the capture of the city of Mexico Santa Anna resigned 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 



731 



the presidency of the republic in favor of Senor Pefia y Pefia, president 
of the Supreme Court of Justice, but retained his position as commander- 
in-chief of the army. The fall of the city was followed by the inaugu- 
ration of a new government, one of the first acts of which was to dismiss 
Santa Anna from the command of the army. He at once left the coun- 
try, and fled to the West Indies. 

The Mexican government was removed to the city of Queretaro, and 
a new congress was elected, which began its sessions in that city. Nego- 
tiations for peace had been opened in the meantime, and the meetings of 
the Mexican commissioners and Mr. Trist were held at the town of Gua- 
daloupe Hidalgo, where, on the 2d of February, 1848, a treaty of peace 




CAPTURE OP THE BELEK GATE. 



was signed by Nicholas P. Trist, on the part of the United States, and 
Senors Couto, Atristain and Cuevas, on the part of Mexico. Though 
Mr. Trist's powers had been withdrawn by President Polk sor^e time 
before, he ventured to continue his authority on the ground that the 
opportunity for bringing the war to a close was too favorable to be lost. 
The commissioners appointed by the president to supersede him reached 
Mexico a little later, but found the treaty signed and sealed. It was 
forwarded to Washington, and was laid by the president before the 
Senate, which body after a brief discussion ratified it. On the 4th of 
July, 1848, President Polk issued a proclamation announcing the return 
of peace. 



732 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



By the terras of the treaty the Rio Grande was accepted by ISIexico as 
the western boundary of the United States and of Texas, and that republic 
ceded to the United States the provinces of New Mexico and Upper Cali- 
fornia. For this immense territory the government of the United States 
agreed to pay to IMexico the sum of fifteen millions of dollars, and to 
assume the debts due by Mexico to citizens of the United States, amount- 
ing to the sum of three and a half millions of dollars. 

The treaty having been ratified, the American forces were promptly 
withdrawn from Mexico. 

By the cession of California and New Mexico, regions as yet unknown, 




HYDRAULIC MINING. 



a territory four times as large as France was added to the dominions of 
the United States. California borderecl the Pacific coast for about six 
hundred and fifty miles, and extended inland for nbout the same dis- 
tance. It embraced an area of about 450,000 square miles, comprising 
what is now known as California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and parts of 
Colorado and New Mexico. At the close of the war it contained about 
15,000 inhabitants. 

In February, 1848, occurred an event destined to change the whole 
history of the Pacific coast. A laborer on the plantation of Captain 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 



733 



Sutter, situated in Coloma county, California, on a branch or the Sacra- 
mento river, while working on a mill race, discovered gold in the sands 
of the little stream. The precious metal was soon found to be in abund- 
ance in the neighborhood, and the news spread rapidly. It reached the 
United States about the time of the ratification of the treaty, and pro- 
duced the most intense excitement. In the course of a few months thou- 
sands of emigrants were on their way to California to dig gold. Some 
went in steamers and sailing vessels around Cape Horn ; some crossed the 
isthmus of Panama, and worked their way up the Pacific coast; and 
others, and by far the greater number, undertook the long and dangerous 
journey across the plains and the Rocky mountains, travelling generally 
in caravans. In a short time multitudes came flocking from every coun- 




THE emigrants' camp ON THE PLAINS EN ROUTZ; TO CALIFORNIA. 



try in Europe to join the throng in search of the precious metal. San 
Francisco was the central point of this vast emigration, and that place 
soon grew from a village of a few miserable huts to a city of over fifteen 
thousand inhabitants. Within two years after the discovery of gold the 
population of California had increased to nearly 100,000; two years 
later, in 1852, it numbered 264,000. 

The influence of the discovery of gold in California was not limited to 
this country. It gave an impetus to the commerce and industry of the 
whole world. 

On the 21st of February, 1848, ex-President John Quincy Adams, 



734 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



then a member of the House of Representatives in Congress, was stricken 
with paralysis in his seat in the House. He Avas carried iifto the speaker's 
room, where he died two days later, at the age of eighty. 

On the 29th of May, 1848, Wisconsin was admitted into the Union as 
a State, making the thirtieth member of the confederacy. 

Before the return of peace with Mexico the slavery question had been 
revived in the United States, and had been the cause of an agitation full 
of trouble to both sections. On the 8th of August, 1846, President Polk 
sent a message to Congress asking an appropriation of three millions of 
dollars to enable him to negotiate a treaty of peace with Mexico, based 
upon the policy of obtaining a cession of territory outside the existing 
limits of Texas. During the debate upon a bill to grant this appropria- 
tion, Mr. David Wilmot, a representative from Pennsylvania, made the 
following amendment, known as the " Wilmot Proviso : " " Provided, 
That there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any ter- 
ritory which shall hereafter be acquired, or be annexed to the United 

States, otherwise than in the pun- 



ishment of crimes, whereof the 
party shall have been duly con- 
victed : Provided always, That any 
person escaping into the same, fiom 
whom labor or service is laM- fully 
claimed in any one of the United 
States, such fugitive may be 
lawfully reclaimed and conveyed out of said territory to the j)crson 
claimino; his or her labor or service." This amendment took no notice 
of the Missouri Compromise line, and was opposed with great warmth 
by the southern members, who declared it an attempt to rob the 
Southern States in advance of their fair share of the territory that 
might be won by the joint eiforts of the States. The bill failed in the 
Senate; but the announcement of the Wilmot Proviso reopened the 
slavery question in all its bitterness, and plunged the country into a 
state of profound excitement. 

The agitation was renewed in January, 1847, when a bill for the or- 
ganization of a territorial government for Oregon was reported to the 
House with the Wilmot Proviso incorporated in it. Mr. Burt, of South 
Carolina, moved to amend the bill by inserting before the restrictive 
clause the words : " Inasmuch as the whole of said territory lies north of 
36° 30' north latitude." This was an effort to apply to the Oregon bill 
the principles of the Missouri Compromise ; but the friends of the restric- 
tion rejected the amendment. The bill passed the House, but was dc- 




COAT OF AKiMS OF WISCONSIN. 



THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 735 

feated in the Senate. During the next session the measure was revived, 
and a territorial government was organized for Oregon with an unqualified 
restriction upon slavery. 

In the fall of 1848 the presidential election occurred. The Demo- 
cratic party supported Senator Lewis Cass, of Michigan, for the presi- 
dency, and General William O. Butler, of Kentucky, for the vice-presi- 
dency! The Whig party nominated General Zachary Taylor, of 
Louisiana, for the presidency, and Millard Fillmore, of New York, for 
the vice-presidency. The Anti-slavery or Free Soil party put in nomi- 
nation for the presidency Martin Van Buren, of New York, and for the 
vice-presidency Charles Francis Adams, of Massachusetts. In the elec- 
tion which followed the political campaign, the candidates of the Whig 
party were elected by decisive majorities. The Free Soil party failed to 
receive a single electoral vote, but out of the popular vote of nearly three 
millions, nearly three hundred thousand ballots were cast for its candi- 
dates, showing a remarkable gain in strength in the past four years. 





CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF ZACHARY TAYLOR AND MILLARD FILLMORE. 

Character of General Taylor — Department of the Interior — Death of ex-President Polk — 
The Slavery Agitation — Views of Clay and Webster — California asks admission into the 
Union — Message of President Taylor — The Omnibus Bill — Efforts of Henry Clay — A 
Memorable Debate — Webster's " Great Union Speech " — Death of John C. Calhoun — 
Death of President Taylor — Millard Fillmore becomes President — Passage of the Coin- 
promise Measures of 1850 — Death of Henry Clay — Dissatisfaction with the Compromise 
— The Fugitive Slave Law Nullified by the Northern States — The Nashville Convention 
— Organization of Utah Territory — The Seventh Census — The Expedition of Lopez 
against Cuba — The Search for Sir John Franklin — The Grinnel Expedition — Dr. Kane's 
Voyages — Inauguration of Cheap Postage — Laying the Corner-stone of the new Capitol 
— Death of Daniel Webster — Arrival of Kossuth — The President Rejects the Tripartite 
Treaty — Franklin Pierce elected President — Death of William E. King. 

"HE 4th of March, 1849, fell on Sunday, and the inauguration of 
General Taylor as president of the United States took place on 
Monday, INIarch 5th. 

The new president was a native of Virginia, but liad removed 
with his parents to Kentucky at an early age, and had grown up 
to manhood on the frontiers of that State. In 1808, at the age of twenty- 
four, he was commissioned a lieutenant in the army by President Jefferson, 
and had spent forty years in the military service of the country. His 
exploits in the Florida war and the war with INIoxico have been related. 
His brilliant victories in IMcxico had made him the most popular man in 
the United States, ant] had won him the high office of the presidency at 
the hands of his grateful fellow-citizens. He Avas without political ex]:)e- 
rience, but he was a man of pure and stainless integrity, of groat firnniess, 
a sincere patriot, and ])ossesscd of strong good sense. He had received a 
majority of the electoral votes of both the Northern and Southern States, 
and was free from party or sectional ties of any kind. His inaugural 
address was brief, and was confined to a statement of general principles. 
His cabinet was composed of the leaders of the Whig party, with John 
^I. Clayton, of Delaware, as secretary of state. The last Congress had 
created a new executive department — that of the interior — to relieve the 
.secretary of the treasury of a part of his duties, and President Taylor was 
called u])on to appoint the first secretary of the interior, which he did in 
736 



• ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 737 

the person of Thomas Ewing, of Ohio. The new department was charged 
with the management of the public lauds, the Indian tribes-, and the 
issuing of patents to inventors. 

A few months after the opening of President Taylor's administration, 
ex-President Polk died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, on the 15th 
of June, 1849, in the fifty-fourth year of his age. 

Since the announcement of the Wilniot Proviso, the agitation of the 
slavery question had been incessant, and had increased instead of dimin- 
ishing with each succeeding year. It was one of the chief topics of dis- 
cussion in the newspaper press of the country, and entered largely into 
every political controversy, however local or insignificant in its nature. 
The opponents of slavery regarded the annexation of Texas and the 
Mexican war as eiforts to extend that institution, and were resolved to 
put an end to its existence at any cost. The 
advocates of slavery claimed that the South- 
ern States had an equal right to the com- 
mon property of the States, and were entitled 
to protection for their slaves in any of the 
Territories then owned by the States or that 
might afterwards be acquired by them. 
The Missouri Compromise forbade the exist- 
ence of slavery north of the line of 36° 30' 
north latitude, and left the inhabitants south 
of that line free to decide upon their own 
institutions. The Anti-slavery party was 
resolved that slavery should be excluded 

rt , . • 1 r- nr • 1 ZACHARY TAYLOR. 

from the territory acquired from Mexico, and 

in the Wilmot Proviso struck their first blow for the accomplishment of 
this purpose. We have seen that they succeeded in prohibiting slavery, 
by a special act of Congress, in Oregon, although the terms of the Missouri 
Compromise would have excluded the institution from that Territory. 
Their object was fully understood by the southern people, and was bit- 
terly resented by them. The agitation of the subject aroused a storm of 
passion throughout the country, and produced a very bitter feeling 
between the Northern and Southern States. In his last message to Con- 
gress President Polk had recommended that the line of 36° 30' north 
latitude be extended to the Pacific, and thus leave it to the people south 
of that line to decide whether they would have slavery or not. This 
proposition was acceptable to the south ; but it was rejected by the Anti- 
slavery party. The Missouri Compromise line had been limited to the 
liouisiana purchase, which was entirely slaveholding, and had made more 
47 




738 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

than one-half of it free. To extend the line to the Pacific would be to 
give the south a chance to establish slavery in territory which was free 
at the time of its acquisition by the United States. The north would not 
listen to such a proposition. 

During the last session of Congress in Mr. Polk's administration, an 
effort had been made to establish territorial governments for Utah and 
New Mexico, but had failed in consequence of the inability of Congress 
to agree upon the question of slavery in these Territories. In the debate 
in the Senate upon these measures, Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Webster took 
an active part, and each presented in a masterly manner the views of the 
section he represented upon this great question. Mr. Calhoun, speaking 
for the south, argued that the constitution recognized slavery; that as it 
was the supreme law of the land it was superior to any territorial law or 
act of Congress abolishing slavery ; and that the constitution clearly and 
unequivocally established and protected slavery in the Territories. 

Mr. Webster, speaking for the north, declared that the constitution 
was designed for the government of the States, and not for the Terri- 
tories. Congress, he said, had the right to govern the Territories 
independently of the constitution, and he maintained that it often exer- 
cised this right contrary to the constitution, as it did things in the Terri- 
tories which it could not do in the States. He added : "When new 
territory has been acquired it has always been subject to the laws of 
Congress — to such laws as Congress thought proper to pass for its imme- 
diate government and preparatory state in which it was to remain until 
it was ready to come into the Union as one of the family of States." He 
quoted in support of his position the clause of the constitution which 
declares that the " constitution and the laws of the United States which 
shall be made in pursuance thereof, .... shall be the supreme law of 
the land." 

Congress having failed to make any provision for territorial govern- 
ments for Utah and New Mexico, those Territories were left in a condi- 
tion of anarchy. One of the first duties devolving upon the new admin- 
istration was the alleviation of this evil until it could be definitely settled 
by Congress. President Taylor instructed the federal officers in those 
Territories to encourage the people to organize temporary governments 
for themselves. 

California in the meantime had grown with such rapidity, and had 
experienced so much trouble from its sudden increase of population and 
the lack of a definite government, that its leading citizens determined to 
seek admission into the Union. In the autumn of 1849 a convention of 
the people was held, a constitution formed, and a State government 




739 



740 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

organized. The action of the convention was promptly ratified by the 
people. Upon the assembly of the Thirty-first Congress in the winter of 
1849, California applied for admission into the Union as a State, with 
a constitution forbidding slavery within her limits. 

'The organization of the Thirty-first Congress was delayed for three 
weeks. Parties were about evenly divided, and sixty ballots were taken 
before a speaker could be chosen. The choice at last fell upon Howell 
Cobb of Georgia, who was elected by a plurality. Partisan bitterness ran 
high during this struggle. 

Upon the organization of the House President Taylor sent in his first 
and only message. He recognized the danger with which the sectional 
controversy threatened the country, expressed his views of the situation 
in moderate terms, and intimated that he should faithfully discharge his 
duties to the whole country. He recommended the admission of California 
with the constitution she had chosen ; and advised that Utah and New 
Mexico should be organized as Territories, with liberty to decide the 
question of slavery for themselves when they were ready to enter the 
Union as States. A dispute having arisen between Texas and New 
Mexico concerning the proper boundary between them, the president 
recommended that it should be settled by the courts of the United States. 

The other questions which demanded immediate settlement were slavery 
in the District of Columbia, and the demand of the Southern States for a 
more faithful execution of the provision of the constitution which required 
the arrest and return of fugitive slaves. 

The south opposed the admission of California with a free constitution, 
and the north demanded the abolition of the slave trade in the District 
of Columbia, and the Northern States were unwilling to allow their officers 
to execute the Fugitive Slave Law within their limits. The excite- 
ment became intense, and threats to dissolve the Union of the States 
Mere freely indulged in by the extremists of both the north and the 
south. 

On the 29th of January, 1850, Henry Clay introduced into the Senate 
a series of resolutions designed to settle all the points in dispute by a 
general compromise. The resolutions were referred to a committee of 
thirteen, of which ]\Ir. Clay was made chairman. In due time the com- 
mittee reported a bill known as the " Omnibus Bill " from its embracing 
in one measure all Mr. Clay's propositions. It provided for the admission 
of California as a free State ; the organization of the Territories of Utah 
and New Mexico, without reference to slavery ; the adjustment of the 
boundary between Texas and New Mexico by paying to the former ten 
millions of dollars ; the abolition of the slave trade in the District of 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 741 

Columbia ; and the enactment by Congress of a more stringent and effective 
law for the rendition of fugitive slaves. 

The Omnibus bill was warmly opposed in Congress and in the country 
at large. The debate in the Senate brought out the views of the leading 
statesmen of the country. Senator Jefferson Davis declared the bill in no 
sense a compromise, because it was unequal in its provisions. The south 
he declared gained nothing by the measure, as the constitution already 
required the rendition of fugitive slaves. He proposed, therefore, that the 
Missouri Compromise line should be extended to the Pacific, " with the 
specific recognition of the right to hold slaves in the territory below that 
line." 

Mr. Clay replied to this that " no earthly power could induce him to 
vote for a specific measure for the introduction of slavery where it had not 
existed, either north or south of that line. . . I am unwilling that the 
posterity of the present inhabitants of California and of New Mexico 
should reproach us for doing just what we reproach Great Britain for 
doing to us. ... If the citizens of those Territories come here with 
constitutions establishing slavery, I am for admitting them into the Union ; 
but then it will be their own work and not ours, and their posterity will 
have to reproach them and not us." 

Mr. Calhoun was too ill to take part in the debate in person, but he 
prepared a speech of great ability which was read for him in the Senate 
by Senator Mason of Virginia. He declared that the Union could be 
preserved only by maintaining an equal number of free and slave States, 
in order that the representation of the two sections of the country might 
be equal in the Senate. 

Mr. Webster also took part in the debate, and on this occasion delivered 
what is known as his " great Union speech of the 7th of March," which 
occupied three days in its delivery. He expressed substantially the same 
views as those advocated by Mr. Clay. He opposed restriction of slavery 
in the Territories, and declared he would vote against the Wilmot Proviso. 
His speech created a profound sensation throughout the country, and did 
much to secure the final acceptance of the compromise measures. 

In the midst of this discussion John C. Calhoun died, on the 31st of 
March, 1850. He had entered Congress in 1811, and had been in public 
life from that time until the day of his death. He had filled many high 
offices, both State and national, and had discharged the duties of each and 
all with disinterested fidelity and admitted ability. He was one of the 
first statesmen this country has ever produced, and was the acknowledged 
leader of the south in the sectional controversy with the north. His 
character was above reproach, and he wa-s a sincere and disinterested 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 



743 



patriot. His death was generally lamented throughout the country, and 
his political adversaries joined heartily in the tributes of the nation to his 
many virtues and great abilities. 

A few months later President Taylor was suddenly stricken down with 
a fever, which in a few days terminated fatally. He died on the 9th of 
July, 1850, amid the grief of the whole country, which felt that it had 
lost a faithful and upright chief magistrate. Though the successful 
candidate of one political party, his administration had received the 
earnest support of the best men of the country without regard to party, 
and his death was a national calamity. He had held office only sixteen 
months, but had shown himself equal to his difficult and delicate position. 
He was sixty-six years old at the time of his death. 

By the terms of the constitution the office of president devolved upon 
Millard Fillmore, vice-president of the United States. On the 10th of 
July he took the oath of office before Chief 
Justice Cranch of the District of Columbia, 
and at once entered upon the duties of his new 
position. 

Mr. Fillmore was a native of New York, 
and was born in that State in the year 1800. 
He had served his State in Congress, and as 
governor, and was personally one of the most 
popular of the Presidents. The cabinet of 
General Taylor resigned their offices immedi- 
ately after his death, and the new president 
filled their places by appointing a new cabinet 
with Daniel Webster at its head as secretary 

of state. Mr. Fillmore was in active sympathy with Mr. Clay in his 
effijrts to secure the passage of the compromise measures, as he deemed 
them the best adjustment of the trouble possible under the circumstances. 

The compromise measures were warmly debated in Congress, the sessions 
of which extended through the summer into the latter part of September. 
The bill was then taken up and passed, article by article, by the House 
of Representatives, it having previously passed the Senate. The bill at 
once received the executive approval, and became a law. 

The clause admitting California into the Union as a State was adopted 
on the 9th of September, 1850. 

The course of Mr. Clay in securing the passage of the compromise 
measures of 1850 was justly regarded as the crowning glory of his life. 
It won for him the love and confidence of the whole country without 
regard to party, and the man who " had rather be right than be president " 




MILLABD FILLMORE. 



744 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

had the proud satisfaction of seeing all the faults and mistakes of his 
earlier years forgotten in the confidence and gratitude with which his ' 
countrymen regarded him. He ceased now to take an active part in the 
questions of the day, for it was fitting that his life should close with this 
great service to his country. His health failed rapidly, but he continued 
to hold his seat in the Senate until the 29th of June, 1852, when he died 
at the age of seventy -five years. Honors were showered upon his memory 
in all parts of the Union, and he was laid to his rest amid a nation's 
unaffected mourning. 

There were still many extremists both north and south, to whom the 
compromise measures failed to give satisfaction. The Fugitive Slave 
Law was bitterly denounced by the Anti-slavery j^arty in the north. As 
the Supreme Court of the United States had decided that the justices of 
the peace in the respective States could not be called upon to execute the 
law for the rendition of fugitive slaves, a clause was inserted in the 
Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, providing for the appointment of United 

States commissioners, before whom 
such cases could be tried. The 
Northern States successively enacted 
laws for the nullification of the pro- 
visions of this law. All their jails 
and other State buildings were 
refused to the federal officers for the 
securing of fugitive slaves, and all 
State, county, and city officers were forbidden to arrest or assist in arrest- 
ing or detaining any fugitive slave. In many of the States severe punish- 
ments were denounced against masters coming within their limits to claim 
their slaves, and such fugitives entering these States were declared free. 
These laws were denounced by the slaveholding States as violative of the 
constitution of the United States, and gave rise to great bitterness of fcel- 
insr towards the north. It was maintained that these laws were direct 
evidence of the intention of the northern people to rob the south of its 
property in negro slaves. 

The extremists of the south were equally dissatisfied with the compro- 
mise. They declared that the South had sacrificed everything and gained 
nothing by it, and boldly avowed their intention to bring about the seces- 
sion of the Southern States from the Union. In the summer of 1850 a 
southern convention was held at Nashville, Tennessee. Its real end Avas 
the dissolution of the Union, and for that purpose it urged the Southern 
States to ai)point delegates to a " Southern Congress." The legislatures 
of South Carolina and Mississippi alone responded to this invitation, but 




COAT or AKM8 or CALIFORKIA. 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 745 

the great mass of the southern people turned a deaf 6ar to the appeals of 
the disunionists, and the convention failed to accomplish its object. 

In the inauguration of a territorial government for Utah, the Mormons, 
whose settlement in that Territory while it was yet a possession of Mexico 
we have related, endeavored to frame their own government, and gave to 
the Territory the name of Deseret, which they declared was a word of their 
peculiar language meaning "The Land of the Honey Bee." President 
Fillmore set aside this name and carried out the act of Congress by which 
the Territory received its present name. Brigham Young, the Mormon 
leader or prophet, was appointed governor of the Territory. 

In 1850 theseventh census showed 
the population of the United States 
to be 23,191,876 souls. 

In the early part of President 
Taylor's administration, General 
Lopez, a Spaniard, began to enlist 
men in the United States ostensibly 
for the purpose of aiding the people 
of the island of Cuba to throw oif 
their allegiance to Spain and estab- 
lish their independence, but really 
for the purpose of driving out the 
Spaniards and securing the annexa- 
tion of Cuba to the United States. 
He succeeded in inducing a number bbigham yotjng. 

of adventurous persons to join him. 

President Taylor, upon learning of the movement, issued a procla- 
mation forbidding citizens of the United States to engage in it. In 
spite of this warning, Lopez collected a force of six hundred men, 
and eluding the vigilance of the United States officers, sailed for Cuba. 
He landed at Cardenas, but received so little encouragement that the 
party sailed for Key West. In 1851, Lopez again entered Cuba, this 
time at the head of four hundred and fifty men. His party was captured 
almost immediately, and he and a number of his men were put to death 
by the Spanish authorities at Havana. 

In May, 1850, an expedition of a different character sailed from the 
United States. The fate of Sir John Franklin, who sailed from England 
in 1845, in search of the northwest passage, had long enlisted the sym- 
pathy of humane and generous souls. It was thought that the daring 
navigator might be confined to the Arctic regions by the loss of his ships, 
and that a well-executed search might either result in the discovery and 




746 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

relief of Franklin or settle the question as to his fate. Mr. Henry 
Grinnell, a wealthy merchant of New York, fitted out an expedition at 
his own expense, and placing it under the command of Lieutenant De 
Haven, of the United States navy, despatched it to the Arctic regions to 
search for Franklin and his men, in May, 1850. De Haven was accom- 
panied by Dr. E. K. Kane, in the capacity of surgeon and naturalist. 
After a year's absence the vessels returned, the search having been unsuc- 
cessful. The general govenmient despatched another expedition in 1851 
on the same errand, and placed it under command of Dr. Kane. This 
expedition was absent four years, and the government, becoming appre- 
hensive of its fate, sent two vessels to search for Kane and his companions. 
They were found at the isle of Disco, in Greenland, having been forced to 
abandon their vessel in the ice. Nothing was learned by Dr. Kane con- 
cerning the fate of Sir John Franklin ; but the expedition resulted in the 
discovery of the open Polar Sea.* 

In the early part of 1851 Congress reduced the postage on prepaid 
letters to three cents to all parts of the United States, prepayment being 
made by means of stamps provided by the government. The result was 
a rapid and immense increase of the postal revenue of the country. 

On the 4th of July, 1851, the corner-stone of the extension of the capi- 
tol at Washington was laid by President Fillmore with appropriate cere- 
monies. The orator of the day was Daniel Webster. His address was 
one of his best efforts, but was delivered under great disadvantages. His 
health had been failing for some time past, and his weakness was so great 
that he could speak only with difficulty. 

This oration was one of the last public acts of the great s^tesman. On 
the 24th of October, 1852, he died at his home at Marsh field, Massachu- 
setts, aged seventy years, and in him perished the first statesman of 
America. He was large and stout in frame, of swarthy complexion, and 
slow and heavy in movement— a man of noble and commanding appear- 
ance. His intellect was cast in the same gigantic mould as his body. 
His language was simple and chaste, and his arguments irresistible. 
His patriotism knew no sectional limits. "1 am as ready," he once 
said, "to fight and to fall for the constitutional riglits of Vir- 
ginia as I am for those of Massachusetts." Alexander H. Stephens 
has said of him: "He was too great a man and had too great an in- 



* Nothing definite was learned of the fate of Sir John Franklin until 1859, when the 
steamer "Fox," despatched by Lady Franklin, made the melancholy discovery that 
Sir John Franklin died on the 11th of June, 1847, and in 1848 the "Erebus" and 
"Terror" were abandoned in the ice. The survivors of these disasters, one hundred and 
five in number, died one by one from cold and exhaustion on King William's island. 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 747 

tellect not to see the truth when it was presented, and he was too 
honest and too patriotic a man not to proclaim the truth when he saw it, 
even to an unwilling people. In this quality of moral greatness I often 
thought Mr. Webster had the advantage of his great contemporaries, 
Messrs. Clay and Calhoun. Not that I would be understood as saying 
that they were not men of great moral courage, for both of them showed 
this high quality in many instances, but they never gave the world such 
striking exhibitions of it as he did. . . . Webster . . . often passed this 
ordeal, and that he passed it with unflinching firmness is one of the 
grandest features in the general grandeur of his character. Even his 
detractors have been constrained to render him unwilling homasre in this 
respect." * His memory was honored by appropriate demonstrations in 
all parts of the country, and it is said that the popular tributes on this 
occasion were equalled only by those of the nation at the death of 
Washington. 

In December, 1851, Louis Kossuth, the chief of the Hungarian insur- 
rection of 1848, visited the United States. His avowed object was to 
promote the cause of his countrymen, and he made frequent addresses in 
various parts of the Union, which were listened to by vast multitudes 
who were charmed with his eloquence. He visited Washington, and 
was granted a public reception by Congress. The Austrian minister at 
Washington, the Chevalier Hulseman, protested against this reception, and 
his protest being unheeded, he withdrew from Washington for a while. 

The attempt of Lopez upon Cuba had greatly alarmed Spain for the 
safety of that island. England and France, sympathizing with her, and 
anxious to render the acquisition of Cuba by the United States impos- 
sible, proposed to the American government to join them in a "tripartite 
treaty," in which each should disclaim any intention to seize that island, 
and should guarantee Spain in her possession of it. In December, 1852, 
Edward Everett, who had succeeded Mr. Webster as secretary of state, 
by the direction of the president, replied to the proposition of England 
and France, declining to accept it. "The President," he said, "does not 
covet the acquisition of Cuba for the United States," but " could not see 
with indifference that island fall into the possession of any European gov- 
ernment than Spain." He stated that the situation of the island rendered 
it peculiarly interesting to this country by reason of its proximity to our 
coast, and its commanding the approach to the Gulf of Mexico and the 
mouth of the Mississippi. The European powers were thus given to 
understand that the United States would not tolerate their interference in 
a question purely American. 

* The War Between the States, vol. i., pp. 405, 406. 



748 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The year 1852 was marked by intense excitement consequent on the 
political campaign Avhich terminated in the fall in the presidential elec- 
tion. The Democratic party made a strong and successful effort to re- 
cover its lost power, and nominated Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, 
for president, and William R. King, of Alabama, for vice-president. The 
Whig party nominated General Winfield Scott for president, and William 
A. Graham, of North Carolina, for vice-president. The Anti-slavery 
party put in nomination John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, and George 
W. Julian, of Indiana. The election resulted in the choice of the candi- 
dates of the Democratic party by an overwhelming majority. The Anti- 
slavery party on this occasion polled but 1 55,825 votes, or a little more 
than half of the strength it had shown at the previous election. 

Mr. King, the vice-president elect, did not long survive his triumph. 
His health had been delicate for many years, and he was obliged to pass 
the winter succeeding the election in Cuba. Being unable to return 
home, he took the oath of office before the American consul, at Havana, 
on the 4th of March, 1853. He then returned to the United States, and 
died at his home in Alabama on the 18th of April, 1853. 




CHAPTER XXXIX. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 




Dispute with Mexico — The Gadsden Purchase — Surveys for a Pacific Railway — The 
Japan Expedition — Treaty with Japan — The Koszta Affair — The " Black Warrior " 
seized by the Cuban OflScials — The "Ostend Conference" — Dismissal of the British 
Minister — The Kansas-Nebraska Bill — History of the Bill — Its Passage by Congress — 
History of the Struggle in Kansas — Conflict between the Pro-Slavery and Free Soil 
Settlers — Lawrence Sacked — Civil War — The Presidential Campaign of 1856 — James 
Buchanan elected President of the United States — Rapid increase of the Republican 
Party. 

"^^jRESIDENT PIERCE took the oath of office at the capitol at 
Washington on the 4th of March, 1853, in the presence of an 
immense throng. He was in his forty-ninth year, and had won 
an enviable name by his previous services to the country. He 
was a native of New Hampshire, and had represented that 
State for four years in the lower House of Congress, and for nearly a full 
term in the Senate of the United States. He had also served with dis- 
tinction during the Mexican war as briga- 
dier-general. He placed William L. Marcy, 
of New York, at the head of his cabinet as 
secretary of state. 

The first question of importance the new 
president was called upon to settle grew out 
of a dispute with Mexico concerning the 
boundary between that country and the Ter- 
ritory of New Mexico. At the time of the 
treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo the maps were 
so imperfect that the boundary line had not 
Ijeen drawn with sufficient exactness. Both 
countries claimed the Mesilla valley, which 
was said to be very fertile, but which was 
more important to the United States as affijrding what was generally re- 
garded as the most practicable route to California. Santa Anna was now 
president of the Mexican republic again, and sent a force of Mexican 
troops to occupy the region in dispute. The matter was settled by nego- 

749 




FRANKLIN PIERCE. 



750 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tiation, however, and the United States obtained the Mesilla valley and 
the free navigation of the Gulf of California and of the Colorado to the 
American frontier. For these concessions the federal government paid 
Mexico the sum of ten millions of dollars. The district thus acquired 
was known as the " Gadsden Purchase," and was subsequently erected 
into the Territory of Arizona. 

The necessity of more rapid and certain communication with California 
had brought the nation to regard a railway between the Mississippi and 
the Pacific as a necessity, and as such an undertaking was considered be- 
yond tlie resources of a private corporation, it was believed that it should 
be built by the general government, or at least that the general govern- 
ment should bear a part of the expense. The year 1853 witnessed the 
first steps towards the construction of this great work. Two expeditions 
were despatched under the orders of the war department to explore the 
best routes for a Pacific railway. 

The acquisition of California brought the United States into new rela- 
tions with the nations of the eastern world, as it secured for them a base 
upon the Pacific from which a direct trade could be conducted with China 
and Japan. The empire of Japan, however, was closed to foreigners, and 
it was very desirable to open commercial relations with it. Towards the 
close of Mr. Fillmore's term of office, Commodore Perry, a brother of the 
hero of Lake Erie, was despatched to China with a fleet of seven war 
steamers to negotiate a treaty with the Japanese government. He arrived 
in the bay of Jeddo in the summer of 1853. The natives were greatly 
astonished at the appearance of his steamers, the first that had ever been 
seen in those waters, and at his boldness in venturing into their harbors. 
The Japanese officials oixlered him to depart, but he refused, and insisted 
on seeing the emperor, and making known to him the object of his 
friendly visit. They at length decided to lay the matter before the 
emperor, who consented to grant an interview to the commodore, and 
named the 14th of July for that purpose. On the day appointed the 
commodore landed, accompanied by a strong body of marines. He was 
received with great ceremony by the Japanese, and delivered the presi- 
dent's letter, to which an answer was promised. The answer of the 
emperor was submitted to him several months later, and was favorable. 
A treaty was concluded between the United States and Japan, by which 
the former were allowed to trade in two specified ports — Simodi and 
Hokadadi. American citizens were permitted to reside at these ports, and 
consuls were accepted for them. Thus the United States had the honor 
of being the first to open the rich markets of the island empire to the 
commerce of the civilized world. Since then the relations between the 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 75I 

two countries have steadily grown more cordial, and Japan has shown a 
remarkable rapidity and facility for adopting the civilization of the 
west. 

In July, 1853, occurred an event which did much to increase the re- 
spect for our navy among the powers of the world. Martin Koszta, a 
Hungarian, who had taken the preliminary steps to be naturalized in the 
United States, happening to be in Smyrna, in Asia INIinor, on business, was 
seized as a rebel and a refugee by order of the Austrian consul-general, 
and taken on board an Austrian brig. The United States sloop-of-war 
" St. Louis," Captain Ingraham, was lying in the harbor at the time, 
and Ingraham was appealed to for protection for Koszta. He at once 
demanded his release as an American citizen. The demand was refused 
by the authorities, and Ingraham at once called his crew to quarters and 
threatened to fire upon the Austrian ship if Koszta was not immediately 
released. The Austrians at once surrendered their prisoner, and he was 
placed in custody of the French consul to await the action of the govern- 
ment of the United States. The matter was settled by negotiation be- 
tween this country and Austria, and Koszta was released. Austria 
addressed to the government at Washington a remonstrance against the 
conduct of Captain Ingraham, but his course was warmly applauded by 
his countrymen and by disinterested persons in Europe. 

In February, 1854, the American merchant steamer " Black Warrior" 
was seized by the Spanish authorities at Havana, on the pretext that she 
had evaded or violated some uncertain revenue law, and the ship and her 
cargo were declared confiscated. This action of the Havana officials was 
regarded in the United States as unjust, and aroused a great deal of feel- 
ing against the Spaniards, and gave a sudden impetus to the national 
sentiment in favor of the acquisition of Cuba. The affair of the " Black 
Warrior" was satisfactorily settled by the Spanish government. 

While the feeling aroused by the affair was at its height a conference 
of some of the American ministers in Europe, including Mr. Buchanan, 
minister to England, Mr. Mason, minister to France, and Mr. Soule, 
minister to Spain, and some others, was held at Ostend, in Belgium, and 
a circular was adopted recommending the acquisition of Cuba by the 
United States. This measure attracted much attention, and elicited con- 
siderable European criticism of the alleged ambitious designs of the United 
States. Mr. Soule, on his return to Madrid, was stopped at Calais by 
order of the emperor of the French, who had personal reasons for dis- 
liking him. The emperor, however, reconsidered his action, and allowed 
Soul^ to pass through France to the Spanish frontier. 

In 1855 Great Britain, France, Sardinia, and Turkey being engaged in 



752 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

a war with Russia, the agents of the British government undertook to 
enlist recruits for their array within the limits of the United States in 
defiance of the neutrality laws of this country. The matter being brought 
to the attention of the United States government, it was found that the 
British minister at Washington and the British consuls in some of tlie 
principal cities of the Union had encouraged, if they had not authorized, 
these enlistments. The government of the United States thereupon called 
the attention of Great Britain to the conduct of her minister, and requested 
her to recall him. The queen declined to comply with this request, and 
the minister and the consuls were promptly dismissed by the president. 
Tiie matter caused considerable irritation in England for a while, but the 
good sense of the English people at length perceived the propriety of 
the course of the American government, and cordial relations were 
re-established between the two countries. 

The most important measure of Mr. Pierce's administration was the 
bill to organize the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The region 
embraced in these Territories formed a part of the I^ouisiana purchase, 
and extended from the borders of Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota to the 
summit of the Rocky mountains, and from the parallel of 36° 30' north 
latitude to the border of British America. The whole region by the 
terms of the Missouri Compromise had been secured to free labor by the 
exclusion of slavery. Until the year 1850 this vast area was called by 
the general and somewhat indefinite name of the " Platte Country," from 
the Platte river, which flows through it. Little was known concerning 
it save that it was a region of great fertility. It was mainly occupied by 
the reservations of the Indian tribes, which had been removed from the 
other States to make way for the whites. Across it swept the grand 
trails of the overland route to Utah and the Pacific. The people of the 
New England States were very anxious that the Indian reservations 
which covered the eastern part should be bought up by the general gov- 
ernment and the country thrown open to emigration. Petitions to this 
effect were |)resented to the Thirty-second Congress, but no action was 
taken upon them until December, 1852, when Mr. Hall, of Missouri, 
introduced a bill into the House to organize the " Territory of Platte." 
It was referred to the Committee on Territories, which in February, 
1853, reported a bill organizing the "Territory of Nebraska." The bill 
was opposed in the House of Representatives by the full strength of the 
south, and in the Senate the only southern senators who voted for it were 
those from Missouri. The Missouri Compromise, as has been stated, 
secured the entire Nebraska region to free labor; but notwithstanding 
this the southern members of Congress were resolved to oppose the 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 753 

organization of a new free Territory, and to endeavor to obtain a footing 
for slavery in at least a part of it. 

The matter was revived in the Senate on the 16th of January, 1854, 
by Senator Dixon, of Kentucky, who gave notice that whenever the 
Nebraska bill should be called up he would move the following amend- 
ment : " That so much of the eighth section of an act approved March 
6, 1820, entitled 'An act to authorize the people of the Missouri 
Territory to form a constitution and State government, and for the admis- 
sion of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original 
States, and to prohibit slavery in certain Territories,' as declares * That, 
in all the territory ceded by France to the United States, under the name 
of Louisiana, which lies north of 36° 30' north latitude, slavery and 
involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes 
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall be forever pro- 
hibited,' shall not he so construed as to apply to the Territory contemplated 
by this act, or to any other Territory of the United States ; but that the 
citizens of the several States or Territories shall be at liberty to take and 
hold their slaves within any of the Territories or States to be formed 
therefrom, as if the said act, entitled as aforesaid, had never been 
passed." 

The announcement of this amendment startled the country as much an 
the Wilmot Proviso had done years before, and produced much angry 
excitement. It was a clear repudiation of the Missouri Compromise, 
which it did not even seek to repeal. 

Senator Douglas, of Illinois, chairman of the Committee on Territories, 
on the 23d of January, 1854, reported a bill which provided for the 
organization of the Platte country into ttco Territories. The southern 
portion, which lay directly west of Missouri, stretching to the Rocky 
mountains on the west, and extending from the thirty-seventh to the 
fortieth parallel of north latitude, was to be organized into a distinct Ter- 
ritory to be called Kansas. The remainder was to be called Nebraska, 
having the line of 43° 30' for its northern boundary. Senator Douglas, 
in an evil hour for the country, incorporated in the bill the main fea- 
tures of Mr. Dixon's amendment. The bill contained the following 
provisions : 

"Section 21. And be it further enacted, That, in order to avoid mis- 
construction, it is hereby declared to bethe true intent and meaning of 
this act, so far as the question of slavery is concerned, to carry into prac- 
tical operation the following propositions and principles, established by 
the compromise measures of one thousand eight hundred and fifty, to 
wit: 

48 



751 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

''First. That all questions pertaining to slavery in the Territories, 
and in the new States to be formed therefrom, are to be left to the 
decision of the people residing therein, through their appropriate represent- 
atives. 

" "Second. That all cases involving title to slaves, and questions of per- 
sonal freedom, are referred to the adjudication of the local tribunals, with 
the right of appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. 

''Third. That the provisions of the constitution and laws of the 
United States, in respect to fugitives from service, are to be carried into 
faithful execution in all the * organized Territories/ the same as in the 
States." 

The section of the bill which j)rescribed the qualifications and mode 
of election of a delegate from each of the Territories was as folloAvs : 
"The constitution, and all laws of the United States which are not 
locally inapplicable, shall have the same force and effect within the said 
Territory as elsewhere in the United States, except the section of the act 
preparatory to the admission of Missouri into the Union, approved March 
6, 1820, which was superseded by the principles of the legislation of 
1850, commonly called the compromise measures, and is declared 
inoperative." - 

Mr. Dixon declared that the bill, as reported by Senator Douglas, met 
with his hearty approval, and that he would support it with all his ability. 
The debate on the bill began in the Senate on the 24th of January, and 
continued through several weeks. It was conducted with great ability on 
both sides, and engaged the earnest attention of the Avhole country. The 
Free Soil senators unanimously opposed the bill, which they denounced 
as a violation of the INIissouri Compromise, by which the faith of the 
nation was pledged to the settlement then effected. The southern 
senators supported it with equal unanimity, as they held that the Missouri 
Compromise had been superseded by the compromise of 1850. 

On the 6th of February Mr. Chase, of Ohio, moved to strike out so 
much of the bill as declared the Missouri Compromise "superseded" by 
the compromise of 1850, but the motion was defeated. Whereupon Mr. 
Douglas, on the 15th of February, moved to strike out the clause objected 
to by Mr. Chase, and insert the following: 

" Which being inconsistent with the principle of non-intervention by 
Congress with slavery in the States and Territories, as recognized by the 
legislation of 1850 (commonly called the compromise measures), is 
hereby declared inoperative and void ; it being the true intent and mean- 
ing of this act not to legislate slavery into any Territory or State, nor to 
exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 755 

and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to 
the constitution of the United States." 

Mr. Douglas' amendment was at once adopted, and seemed fair enough 
on its face. Mr. Chase exposed the hollowness of it by proposing to add 
to it the following clause, which was promptly voted down : " Under 
which tlie people of the Territories, through their appropriate representa- 
tives, may, if they see fit, prohibit the existence of slavery therein^ 

The bill was adopted by the Senate by a vote of thirty-seven yeas to 
fourteen nays, and by the House by a vote of one hundred and thirteen 
yeas to one hundred nays, and on the 31st of May, 1854, received the 
approval of the president and became a law. 

The whole country engaged warmly in the discussion aroused by the 
reopening of the question of slavery in the Territories. The north 
resented the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and in the south a large 
and respectable party sincerely regretted the repeal of that settlement. 
By the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill the Thirty-third Congress 
assumed a grave responsibility, and opened the door to a bloody and 
bitter conflict in the Territories between slavery and free labor. The 
events now to be related were the logical consequences of the repeal of 
the Missouri Compromise. 

A few months before the final vote upon the Kansas-Nebraska bill the 
general government succeeded in purchasing the Indian reservations in 
those Territories, and removed the Indian tribes to new homes farther 
west. This action at once threw Kansas and Nebraska open to white 
settlers, and measures were set on foot in the New England States to 
encourage emigration thither. Kansas being a more fertile country than 
Nebraska naturally attracted the greater number of settlers. Before 
anything could be done by the Free Soil men the people living on the 
border of Missouri passed over into Kansas, and selecting the best lands, 
put their mark upon them, hoping in this way to establish a pre-emption 
claim to them. Their object was to organize and hold the Territory in 
the interest of slavery, but very few of them removed to Kansas, or had 
any wish to do so. 

In the meantime societies had been formed in the New England States 
for the promotion of emigration to Kansas. As the Pro-slavery settlers 
had come into the Territory so slowly, and in such small numbers, it 
seemed certain that the northern people could secure Kansas to free labor 
by sending out settlers to occupy the Territory in good faith. The Pro- 
slavery party in Missouri determined to prevent this. In July, 1854, a 
meeting was held at Westport in that State, at which it was resolved that 
the persons taking part in the meeting would, " whenever called upon by 



"56 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



any of the citizens of Kansas Territory, hold 'themselves' in readiness 
together to resist and remove any and all emigrants who go there under 
the auspices of the Northern Emigrant Aid Societies." 

The first party sent out by the New England Aid Societies reached a 
point on the Kaw river, in Kansas, about the middle of July. There 
they pitched their tents and began the building of a toM'n, which thcv 
named Lawrence, in honor of Amos A. Lawrence, of Boston. By the 
last of the month tiiey were joined by seventy more emigrants, and th(r 
work of founding their town was pushed forward with energy. There 
was not a drone in the little community. They were all honest, intelli- 




FIKST HOTEL IN LAAVRENCE. 

gent. God-fearing men and women, and they meant to succeed in the 
undertaking they had begun. They Avere in legal and peaceable pos- 
session of their settlement, and thus far had molested or wrongetl 
no one. 

They were not to live in peace, however. Before they had finished 
building their houses, tiiey were startled by the announcement that two 
hundred and fifty armed Missourians had encamped within a short dis- 
tance of them for the purpose of driving them out of the Territory. 
The next morning the Missourians sent them a formal notice that " the 
Abolitionists must leave the Territory, never more to return to it." They 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 



10/ 



declared their desire to avoid bloodshed ; but notliicd the settlers tiiat 
tliey must be ready to leave the Territory, with all their effects, at one 
o'clock that day. This the settlers refused to do, and prepared to defend 
their homes. The messengers of the Missourians found them drilling 
behind their tents, and reported this fact to their leaders. The firm but 
(piiet attitude of the people of Lawrence had a happy effect. The Mis- 
sourians made no effort to carry out their threat, but broke up their camp 




THE PEOPLE OF LAWRENCE DETERMINED TO RESIST. 



that night, and withdrew across the border, leaving the settlers in peace. 
jSIeanwhile the town of Lawrence grew and prospered, and the New 
England Societies continuing to send other emigrants into the Territory 
other towns were founded. Settlers from the Southern States came into 
the Territory very slowly. 

The general government threw its influence as far as possible in favor 
of the Pro-slavery party, in the organization of the Territory, by appoint- 



758 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ing a majority of the territorial officers from the slaveholding State?. 
A. H. llccdcr was appointed governor by President Pierce. He endeav- 
ored to execute the laws faithfully, and ordered an election for members 
of a territorial legislature, to be held on the 30th of March, 1855. On 
that day large numbers of armed Missourians crossed the border, and, 
taking possession of the polling-places in Kansas, succeeded in returning 
a Pro-slavery legislature. 

Six districts at once forwarded protests to the governor against the 
elections, showing beyond all reasonable doubt that they had been con- 
trolled by citizens of Missouri. The governor, who was anxious to do 
justice to all parties, ordered a new election in these districts, each of 
which, with the exception of Lecompton, returned a Free Soil delegate. 
The new delegates, however, were refused their seats upon the assembling 
of the legislature, and the successful candidates at the original election 
were admitted. 

The governor had summoned the legislature to meet at Pawnee City, 
on the Kansas rivfer, a town nearly one hundred miles distant from the 
border, and supposed to be far enough away to be free from intimidation 
by the Missourians; but the legislature, immediately upon assembling, 
a<ljourned to Shawnee Mission, on the Missouri border. The resolution 
for this purpose was vetoed by the governor, but was passed over his 
veto and was at once carried into effect. Upon reassembling at Shawnee 
Mission the legislature proceeded to adopt the laws of Missouri as the 
laws of Kansas, and to frame a series of statutes designedly cruel and 
oppressive. These laws were vetoed by Governor Reeder, Avho was re- 
moved by the president. Wilson Shannon, of Ohio, was then appointed 
governor of Kansas. 

In the meantime the Free Soil settlers had increased so rapidly that 
they at length largely outnumbered the Pro-slavery settlers. They now 
felt themselves strong enough to resist the outrages of the Missourians, 
and accordingly, on the 5th of September, 1855, held a convention, in 
which they distinctly repudiated the government that had been forced 
upon them by men who were not residents of the Territory. They an- 
nounced their intention not to take part in the election of a delegate to 
Congress, which the territorial authorities had ordered to be held on the 
1st of October, and called upon the actual residents of the Territory to 
send delegates to a convention to meet at Topeka on the 19th of Sep- 
tember. This convention organized an executive committee for the 
Territory, and ordered an election to be held for the purpose of choosing 
a delegate to Congress. Governor Reeder was nominated and elected to 
Congress. On the 23d of October the convention adopted a Free State 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 769 

constitution, and forwarded it to Congress with a petition for the admis- 
sion of Kansas into the Union as a State. 

The struggle for the possession of the Territory now passed out of the 
area of politics. As we have said, the repeal of the Missouri Com- 
promise opened the way for, and was the direct cause of, the conflict 
between the Free and Pro-slavery settlers of Kansas. The outrages of 
the Pro-slavery men had forced the Free-Soilers into an attitude of 
direct and uncompromising resistance ; and after the action of the latter, 
at Topeka, the struggle which had hitherto been comparatively bloodless 
changed its character and became an open and sanguinary war between 
the two parties. In this struggle the Pro-slavery men were the 
aggressors. Bands of young men, armed and regularly organized into 
companies and regiments, came into the Territory from South Carolina, 
Georgia and the extreme Southern Startes, with the avowed design of 
making Kansas a slaveholding State at all hazards. On the morning of 
May 21st, 1856, under the pretext of aiding the United States marshal 
to serve certain processes upon citizens of Lawrence, they captured that 
town, sacked it, burned several houses and inflicted a loss upon it 
amounting to $150,000. From this time the war went on in a series of 
desultory but bloody encounters, some of which assumed the proportions 
of battles. 

In the summer of 1856 Governor Shannon was removed, and John W. 
Geary, of Pennsylvania, was appointed in his place. He exerted him- 
self honestly to restore peace and execute the laws, and ordered " all 
bodies of men combined, armed and equipped with munitions of war, 
without authority of the government, instantly to disband and quit the 
Territory." In obedience to this order the Free Soil companies nearly 
all disbanded, but the Pro-slavery party paid scarcely any attention to it. 
They concentrated a force of two thousand men and advanced upon 
Lawrence to attack it. Governor Geary at once placed himself at the 
head of the United States dragoons stationed in the Territory, and by a 
rapid march threw himself with these troops between the town of Law- 
rence and the hostile force, and prevented another conflict. 

Matters had reached this stage when the presidential campaign opened 
in 1856. The struggle in the Territories had greatly weakened the 
Democratic party, and had given rise to a new party which called itself 
Republican, and which was based upon an avowed hostility to the ex- 
tension of slavery. A third party, called the American, or Know 
Nothing, also took part in the campaign, and was based upon the doc- 
trine that the political offices of the country should be held only by 
persons of American birth. The Democratic party nominated James 



760 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, for the presidency, and John C. Brecken- 
ridge, of Kentucky, for the vice-presidency. The Republican nominee 
for the presidency was John C. Fremont, of California ; for the vice- 
presidency William L. Dayton, of New Jersey. The American party 
supported Millard Fillmore, of New York, for the presidency, and 
Andrew J. Donelson, of Tennessee, for the vice-presidency. The Whig 
party had been broken to pieces by its defeat in 1852, and had now 
entirely disappeared. 

The canvass was unusually excited. Slavery was the principal ques- 
tion in dispute. Party ties had little influence upon men. The sentiment 
of the nation at large had been outraged by the repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise, and thousands of Democrats, desiring to rebuke their party 
for its course in bringing about this repeal, united with the Republican 
party, which declared as its leading principle that it was " both the right 
and the duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories those twin relics 
of barbarism — polygamy and slavery." 

The elections resulted in the triumph of James Buchanan, the candi- 
date of the Democratic party. Mr. Buchanan received 174 electoral 
votes to 114 cast for Fremont. Though a majority of the American 
people sustained the action of the Democratic party, the significant fact 
remained that 1,341,264 of the voters of the country had recorded their 
condemnation of it by casting their votes for Fremont and Dayton. 




CHAPTER XL. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Inauguration of Mr. Buchanan — The Mormon Rebellion— The Financial Crisis of 1857 — 
Laying of the Atlantic Telegraphic Cable — Minnesota admitted into the Union— The 
San Juan Affair— Admission of Oregon into the Union— The Kansas question— The 
Lecompton Constitution— Its defeat— The Wyandotte Constitution— Admission of Kan- 
sas into the Union— The John Brown Raid — Prompt action of the Government— Brown 
and his Companions surrendered to the State of Virginia— Their Trial and Execution- 
Presidential Campaign of 1860— Rupture of the Democratic party— Abraham Lincoln 
elected President of the United States— Secession of South Carolina— Reasons for this 
Act — Secession of the other Cotton States— Major Anderson occupies Fort Sumter — 
Trying position of the General Government — Course of Mr. Buchanan— The " Star of 
the West " fired upon by the South Carolina Batteries— Organization of the Confederate 
Statesof America— Jefferson Davis elected President of the Southern Republic— The 
Peace Congress — Its Failure. 

AMES BUCHANAN, the fifteenth President of the United 
States, Avas inaugurated at Washington on the 4th of March, 
1857. He was in his sixty-sixth year, and was a statesman 
of great acconiplishments and ripe experience. He was born in 
Pennsylvania, in 1791, and was by profession a lawyer. He 
had served his State in Congress as a representative and a senator, had 
been minister to Russia under President Jackson, and had been a mem- 
ber of the cabinet of President Polk as secretary of state. During the 
four years previous to his election to the presidency he had resided 
abroad as the minister of the United States to Great Britain, and in that 
capacity had greatly added to his reputation as a statesman. He avowed 
the object of his administration to be "to destroy any sectional party, 
whether North or South, and to restore, if possible, that national frater- 
nal feeling between the different States that had existed during the early 
days of the republic." The intense sectional feeling which the discussion 
of the slavery question had aroused had alarmed patriotic men in all 
parts of the Union, and it was earnestly hoped that Mr. Buchanan's ad- 
ministration would be able to effect a peaceful settlement of the quarrel. 
Mr. Buchanan selected his cabinet from the leading men of the Demo- 
cratic party, and placed at its head as secretary of state Lewis Cass, 

of Michigan. 

761 



762 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



We have in a previous portion of this work noticed the rise and 
growth of the Mormon sect, and their settlement in the region of the 
Great Salt lake, then a part of the Mexican rej)ublic. They were not at 
all pleased with their transfer to the United States by the cession of the 
territory occupied by them by the treaty of Guadaloupc Hidalgo. Their 
object in emigrating to Utah had been to place themselves beyond the 
limits of the United States, Avhere they could enjoy without molestation 
their religious practices, and especially the gross and immoral institution 
of polygamy, to which they were attached as the foundation of their 
faith. They were not disturbed by the Mexican government, which was 
indeed scarcely aware of their existence, and thus unnoticed devoted 
their energies to building up the country they had occupied. Their 
missionaries were sent into the various countries of Europe, and converts 

were made with extraordinary success and 
rapidity. They built up a thriving town 
on the borders of the great lake, to which 
they gave the name of Salt Lake City, and 
founded other towns in various parts of the 
Territory. By the year 1850 the population 
of the Territory had increased to 11,380. 
Being on the highway to California, the 
greater part of the overland traffic and 
travel to the Pacific passed through Salt 
Lake City, and was a source of considerable 
profit to the Mormons. 

In 1850 the Territory of Utah was or- 
ganized, and Brigham Young, who had suc- 
ceeded Joe Smith as the prophet or leader of the Mormons, was 
appointed by President Fillmore governor of the Territory. His ap- 
pointment was renewed by President Pierce, and the INIormons were left 
during these two administrations to manage their affairs very much in 
their own way. Relying upon the immense distance which separated 
them from the States, they paid but little regard to the authority of the 
United States, and finally ventured openly to resist the officers of the 
general government, and expelled the federal judge from the Territory. 
President Buchanan thereupon removed Brigham Young from his offi.ce 
of governor, and appointed a Mr. Cumming his successor. The Mor- 
mons having declared that the new governor should not enter the 
Territory, General Harney was ordered to accompany him with a large 
body of troops and compel the submission of the people of Utah to the 
authority of the federal government. 




JAMES BUCHANAN. 



764 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Under tlie leadership of Brigham Young the Mormons took up arms 
and prepared to dispute the entrance of the troops into the Territory. 
They declared that their settlement and civilization of Utah had given 
them the sole right to the Territory, and that they owed no allegiance to 
the United States. Their resistance was so formidable that the force 
under General Harney was largely increased, and the command was 
conferred upon Brigadier-General Albert Sidney Johnston, who was 
considered the most efficient officer in the service. General Johnston 
joined his troops at Fort Bridger, about one hundred miles from Salt 
Lake City, in September, 1857. The Mormons in heavy force occupied 




SALT LAKE CITY (FROM THE NORTH). 



the passes leading to the valley of the Great Salt lake. The season Avas 
so far advanced at the time of his arrival that General Johnston 
concluded to pass the winter at Fort Bridger. The INIormons were 
very active during the winter in cutting off the trains of the federal 
troops. 

It was General Johnston's intention to move upon Salt Lake City im- 
mediately upon the opening of the spring, but before that season arrived 
the matter was settled through the efforts of a Mr. Kane, of Philadelj)hia. 
He was sent out to Salt Lake City by the government, and succeeded in 
inducing the Mormons to lay down their arms and submit. Governor 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 765 

Gumming and the federal officers then entered Salt Lake City and 
assumed the offices to which they had been appointed, and a force of 
federal troops was encamped near the city to render them such assistance 
as should be found necessary. President Buchanan then issued a procla- 
mation granting a free pardon " to all, for the seditions and treasons by 
them committed." 

In the fall of 1857 the general business of the country was thrown 
into confusion by a sudden financial panic, which seriously embarrassed 
all commercial and industrial enterprises and caused general distress. 
On the 26th of September the banks of Philadelphia suspended specie 
payments; and their example was followed by the banks of New York 
on the 13th of October, and by those of Boston on the 14th. The 



BRIGHAM young's RESIDENCES, SALT LAKE CITY. 

failures in the United States for the year ending December 6th, 1857, 
are said to have reached the enormous aggregate of $291,750,000. The 
Western States suffered in a marked degree from the effects of this 
"crisis;" but the south was comparatively unharmed by it. Various 
causes were assigned for the panic, the principal of which were the large 
speculations in western lands and a heavy fall in the value of railway 
stocks. The New York banks resumed specie payments on the 12th 
of December, 1857 ; the Boston banks on the 14th of December of that 
year; and those of Philadelphia in April, 1858. Specie payments were 
gradually resumed in other parts of the country, but the depression of 
business continued until during the course of the year 1859. 

In 1858 occurred an event second only in importance to the invention 
of the electric telegraph. For some years it had been believed possible to 



766 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



connect the shores of Europe with those of America by means of a sub- 
marine telegraphic cable across the Atlantic. In 1857 an unsuccessful 
effort was made by a company of American and English capitalists to 
accomplish this object. The attempt was renewed in 1858. Two war 
steamers were furnished for the work of laying the cable — the " Niagara " by 
the United States, and the ''Agamemnon '^ by Great Britain. The two 
vessels met in mid ocean, and sailed each to its own country, paying out 
the cable as they proceeded on their way. On the 5th of August, 1858, 
the " Niagara " entered Trinity bay, in Newfoundland, and made fast her 
end of the cable to the shore, and on the same day the "Agamemnon " reached 
Valentia bay in Ireland, having successfully accomplished her part of the 
work. The great work was thus ended, and on the 16th of August a 
message was received through the wires from the queen of Great Britain 
and Ireland addressed to the president of the United States, who at once 
returned a suitable reply. Other messages were exchanged between the 
two continents, and the practicability of the scheme was fully demonstrated. 
On the first of September the laying of the cable Avas celebrated with 

imposing ceremonies in New York, 
and rejoicings Avere held in other 
cities. The hopes aroused by the 




COAT OF ARMS OF MINNFiOTA. 



successful accomplishment of the 
great enterprise Avere soon disap- 
pointed, for after a short time the 
Avires ceased to Avork, and no effort 
could re-establish the communica- 
tion between the two ends of the line. The feasibility of the undertaking 
had been practically demonstrated, liowever, and the determined men Avho 
had carried it through to success Avcre convinced that a new effort would 
be attended Avith more satisfactory results. 

On the 11th of May, 1858, the Territory of Minnesota Avas admitted 
into the Union as a State. 

In the autunm of 1859 a dispute arose betAveen the United States and 
Great Britain as to the OAvnership of the large island of San Juan lying 
in the strait Avhich separates Vancouver's island from the territory of the 
United States. General Harney, commanding the American troops in 
the northwest, took possession of the island. Governor Douglass of 
British Columbia protested against this occupation, and for a while there 
Avas danger that the two parties Avould come to blows. The general 
government despatched General Scott to the scene of the controversy, and 
he succeeded in bringing about an adjustment of the quarrel. 

On the 14th of February, 1859, Oregon Avas admitted into the Union 
as a State, the Territory of Washington being separated from it. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 767 

During the whole of Mr. Buchanan's administration the question of 
slavery in the Territories continued to engross the attention of the people. 
The struggle in Kansas went on with increased bitterness. In the sum- 
mer of 1857 an election was ordered by the legislature of Kansas for 
delegates to a convention for the purpose of framing a constitution, and 
care was taken to arrange the matter so that a majority of Pro-slavery 
delegates should be chosen. For this reason, and others of equal force, 
the Free Soil men refused to take any part in the election, which conse- 
quently resulted in the choice of a Pro-slavery convention. Tiie Free 
Soil party thereupon issued an address to the people of the United States, 
relating the wrongs they had suffered, and were still enduring. 

Governor Geary now resigned his position, and President Buchanan 
appointed, as governor of Kansas, Robert J. Walker, a man of great 
eminence and ability, who was in sentiment opposed to slavery. Mr. 
Walker sincerely desired to effect a settlement of the quarrel, and suc- 
ceeded in inducing the Free Soil party to vote at the coming election for 
members of the territorial legislature and a delegate to Congress. They 
did so, and a fair election was held, 
which resulted in the choice of the 
Free Soil candidates by overwhelm- 
ing majorities. 

In the autumn of 1857 the conven- 
tion elected, as we have seen, assem- 
bled at Lecompton, and framed a 

'■ ' . , COAT OF ARMS OF OREGON. 

State constitution. This instrument 

contained a clause adopting slavery, and the convention submitted this 
clause only to the people of the Territory for ratification or rejection at 
the polls. The remainder of the constitution was withheld from the 
popular vote. The convention also ordered that all whose votes were 
challenged at the polls should be required " to take an oath to support 
the constitution if adopted," before being allowed to deposit their ballot. 
The Free State men refused to take part in the vote on the ratification 
of this constitution, and consequently all the votes cast were in favor of 
it. It was declared adopted, and was sent to Congress for the approval 
of that body. 

The discussion of the Lecompton constitution in Congress was marked 
by great bitterness. It was supported by the Democratic party and the 
administration, and was opposed with determination by the Republicans. 
The latter took the strong ground that the Lecompton constitution was 
not the work of the people of Kansas, but of a mere faction, and was 
distasteful to the majority of the citizens of that Territory, who were 




7G8 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

opposed to slavery. Finally, on the 30th of April, 1858, a bill was 
passed to submit the Lecompton constitution to the pco])le of Kansas. 
This bill declared that if they ratified the constitution, they should be 
given certain public lands for State purposes; but that if they failed to 
ratify it, Kansas should not be permitted to enter the Union until it had a 
population of ninety-three thousand. With these strange conditions, the 
constitution was submitted to the people of Kansas on the 2d of August, 

1858, and was rejected by them by a vote of eleven thousand three hun- 
dred against it, to seventeen hundred and eighty-eight votes in its favor. 

In January, 1859, the civil strife having sulisidcd in the Territory, and 
the Free Soil men having a majority in the legislature, a convention was 
summoned at Wyandotte. It met in July, and adopted a free State 
constitution, which was submitted to the people and ratified by a large 
majority. The "Wyandotte Constitution" was then laid before Congress, 
and a bill admitting Kansas into the Union as a State was passed by the 
lower House early in 1860. The Senate however failed to act upon the 
bill. At the next session the measure Avas revived, and on the 30th of 

January, 1861, the opj)osition of the 
south having ceased by reason of the 
withdrawal of a large number of 
the southern representatives and 
senators from Congress, Kansas was 
admitted into the Union as a free 
State. 

On the night of the 16th of October, 

1859, John Brown, who had acquired a considerable notoriety as the leader 
of a Free Soil company during the war in Kansas, entered the State of 
Virginia, at Harper's Ferry, with a party of tAventy-one companions, and 
seized the United States arsenal at that place. He then sent out parties 
to arrest the leading citizens of the vicinity, as hostages, and to induce the 
negro slaves to join him, his avowed object being to put an end to slavery 
in Virginia by exciting an insurrection of the slaves. Several citizens 
were kidnapped by these parties, but the slaves refused to join Brown, or 
to take any part in the insurrection. At daylight on the 17th of October 
the alarm was given, and during the morning the militia of the surround- 
ing country was ordered under arms to put down the outbreak. Brown's 
force was unknown, and was greatly exaggerated. 

The news of the seizure of the arsenal was telegraphed to AVashington, 
and the government decided to recover it at once and confine the trouble 
to the spot on which it had originated. General Scott was absent from 
the capital at the time, and the president and secretary of war summoned 




COAT or ARMS OF KANSAS. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 769 

Colonel Robert E. Lee, a distinguished officer of the army, to consult with 
them as to the best course to pursue. The interview resulted in the 
despatching of a battalion of marines to Harper's Ferry, under the com- 
mand of Colonel Lee. Orders were telegraphed to that point to suspend 
all operations there until Colonel Lee's arrival. He reached Harper's 
Ferry on the night of the 17th. 

In the meantime, upon the appearance of the militia. Brown and his 
companions retreated to the fire-engine house in the arsenal yard. This 
was a strong stone building, and they barricaded the doors, and during 
the day maintained a desultory fire upon the town. They had taken 
Colonel Washington, Mr. Dangerfield, and the other citizens kidnapped 
by them, into the engine house with them, where they held them, in the 
hope that the presence of these gentlemen would prevent the troops from 
firing upon them. 

As soon as Colonel Lee arrived at Harper's Ferry, he proceeded to 
surround the engine house with the marines to prevent the escape of 
Brown and his men, and deferred his attack upon them until the next 
morning, lest in a night assault some of the captive citizens might be 
injured. At daylight on the 18th, wishing, if possible, to accomplish the 
object in view without bloodshed, Colonel Lee sent his aid, Lieutenant 
J. E. B. Stuart, to demand the surrender of the insurgents, promising to 
protect them from violence at the hands of the citizens, and to hold them 
subject to the orders of the president. Brown refused the terms offered, 
and demanded to be permitted to march out with his men and prisoners, 
with the arms of the former, to be allowed to proceed, without being 
followed, to a point at a certain distance from Harper's Ferry, where he 
would free his prisoners. He was then willing that the troops should 
pursue him, and to fight if he could not escape. This proposition was 
inadmissible, but as a last resort. Colonel Lee directed Lieutenant Stuart 
to remonstrate with the insurgents upon the folly of their course. This 
duty Stuart performed, remaining before the engine house until his per- 
sonal danger compelled him to withdraw. 

Finding that nothing but force would avail, Colonel Lee gave the order 
for the assault, and the marines made a dash at the engine house, broke 
in the doors, and captured its inmates. Several of the insurgents were 
killed and wounded. Brown himself being desperately hurt. The marines 
lost one man killed, and one wounded. Fortunately none of the citizens 
captured by Brown were injured. 

Colonel Lee took care to protect his prisoners, and there is little doubt 
that but for his precautions in their behalf they would have been shot 
down by the excited civilians. He telegraphed to "Washington for ' 
49 



770 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

instructions, and was directed to deliver the prisoners to Mr. Ould, the 
attorney for the District of Columbia, who was ordered by the govern- 
ment to tiiUe charge of them and bring tiiem to trial. As soon as Mr. 
Ould arrived Colonel Lee turned over the prisoners to him, and being 
satisfied that the danger was over, went back to Washington. 

As Brown and iiis companions had committed their chief crime against 
the United States, by seizing the federal arsenal and resisting the troops 
sent to reduce them to submission, it seemed proper that they sliould be 
tried for their offences by the general government. The attempt to 
excite an insurrection of the slaves, however, was a crime against the 
laws of the State of Virginia, and the governor of that State demanded 
of the federal authorities the surrender of Brown and his fellow-prisoners 
for trial by the State courts. The demand was complied with, and the 
prisoners were arraigned in the court of the county of Jefferson, the 
county in which their offence was committed. They were given a fair 
trial, and were defended by able counsel from the free States, who came 
to Charlestown for that purpose. Brown frankly confessed that his object 
was to produce an insurrection among the slaves, and then carry them off 
to the free States. The prisoners were found guilty of treason, murder, 
and an attempt to excite insurrection, and were sentenced to be hanged. 
Brown was executed at Charlestown on the 2d of December, 1859, and six 
of his companions met the same fate a few weeks later. 

During his trial Brown steadily denied that he had been aided or 
encouraged by any persons in the north. His denial was generally 
doubted at the time, and it is now known that he was assisted with money 
and advice by some of the most respectable leaders of the extreme Anti- 
slavery party, and that several persons high in position knew of the designs 
of Brown, but fiiilcd to warn either the general government or the State 
of Virginia of the intended attack.* 

The execution of Brown and his companions drew upon the south a 
storm of furious denunciation from the Anti-slavery men. Brown was 
regarded as a martyr to the cause of freedom, and the day of his execution 
was observed in many of the towns of the Northern States by the tolling 
of bells, prayer in the churches, the firing of minute-guns, and other 
public demonstrations of sorrow and respect. The conservative class in 
the north, however, and in this number were included some of the firmest 
opponents of slavery, sincerely deplored Brown's course, and acknowledged 
his punishment as merited. Brown was a man of many good qualities, 

* Mr. F. B. Sanborn, one of Brown's confederates, in a series of papers publislied in The 
Atlantic Monthly (vol. xxxv.) gives the details of tliis conspiracy, togetlicr witli many 
interesting incidents coinicctcd with it, which sustain the view of tlie case presented above. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 77 1 

but the undertaking in which he met his fate was criminal in the extreme. 
Not even the intention of rescuing the slaves of Virginia from their 
bondage can excuse liim for seeking to excite a servile war, in which mur- 
der and violence would have been inevitable, and in which the aged and 
the helpless, the defenceless women and children, would have been the 
chief sufferers. 

The effect of Brown's attempt upon the southern people was most 
unfortunate. They regarded it as unanswerable evidence of the intention 
of the people of the north to make war upon them under the cover of the 
Union. Regarding this view of the case as true, they came to listen with 
more favor to the arguments of the extreme class which openly favored a 
dissolution of the Union, and which asserted that the only safety of the 
south lay in pursuing such a course. The John Brown raid was the most 
powerful argument that had ever been placed in the hands of the dis- 
unionists, and in the alarm and excitement produced by that event the 
southern people lost sight of the fact that the great mass of the northern 
people sincerely deplored and condemned the action of Brown and his 
supporters: The voice of reason was drowned in the storm of passionate 
excitement which swept over the land, and the extremists on both sides 
were able to prosecute their unpatriotic work to great advantage. 
' While the excitement M'as at its height the presidential campaign opened 
in the spring of 1860. The slavery question was the chief issue in this 
struggle. The convention of the Democratic party met at Charleston, in 
April, but being unable to effect an organization adjourned to Baltimore, 
and reassembled in that city in June. The extreme southern delegates 
were resolved that the convention should be committed to the protection 
of slavery in the Territories by Congress, and failing to control it with- 
drew from it in a body, and organized a separate convention, which they 
declared represented the Democratic party, but which, in reality, as the 
vote subsequently proved, represented but a minority of that party. The 
new convention was joined by a number of delegates from the northern 
and western states. 

The original convention, after the withdrawal of these delegates, nomi- 
nated for the presidency Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, and for the vice- 
presidency Hcrsclicll V. Johnson, of Georgia. It then proceeded to 
adopt the platform put forward by the entire party four years before at 
Cincinnati, upon the nomination of Mr. Buchanan, with this additional 
declaration : " That as differences of opinion exist in the Democratic 
party as to the nature and extent of the powers of a territorial legislature, 
and as to the powers and dutx's of Congress under the constitution of the 
United States over the institution of slavery within the Territories, . . . 



772 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the party will abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United 
States on the questions of constitutional law." 

The "Seeeders' Convention," as it was commonly called, also adopted 
the Cincinnati platform, and pledged themselves to non-interference by 
Congress with slavery in the Territories or the District of Columbia. 
This party held to the doctrine that the constitution recognized slavery 
as existing in the Territories, and sanctioned and protected it there, and 
that neither Congress nor the people of the Territories could frame any 
law against slavery until the admission of such Territories into the Union 
as States. The regular convention held that Congress had no right to 
interfere with slavery in the Territories, to legislate either for or against 
it ; that the regulation of that question belonged entirely to the people of 
the respective Territories acting through their legislatures. This doctrine 
was popularly known as " Squatter Sovereignty," and was credited to 
Mr. Douglas. The " Seceders' Convention " put forward as its candidate 
for the presidency John C. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, and for the vice- 
presidency Joseph Lane, of Oregon. 

The Republican party took issue with both wings of the Democratic 
party. Its convention was held at Chicago, Illinois, and its candidates 
were, for president Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, and for vice-president 
Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine. The platform of principles adopted by the 
Chicago Convention declared that "the maintenance of the principles 
promulgated in the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the 
federal constitution is essential to the preservation of our republican 
institutions. . . . That all men are created equal ; that they are endowed 
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. . . . That the federal 
constitution, the rights of the States and the union of the States must and 
shall be preserved." The platform also declared that the rights of the 
States should be maintained inviolate, " especially the right of each State 
to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own 
judgment exclusively." It asserted " that the normal condition of all 
the territory of the United States is that of freedom," and denied the 
right or "authority of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of indi- 
viduals, to give legal existence to slavery in any Territory of the United 
States." 

A fourth party, known as the " Constitutional Union Party," pro- 
claimed as its platform the following vague sentence : " The constitution 
of the country, the union of the States, and the enforcement of the laws." 
The convention of this party met at Baltimore, and nominated for the 
presidency John Bell, of Tennessee, and for the vice-presidency Edward 
Everett, of Massachusetts. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 773 

■ The contest between these parties was bitter beyond all precedent. When 
the election took place in November, the result was as follows : 

Popular vote for Lincoln, . . • 1,866,452 

" " Douglas, .... 1,375,157 

" " Breckenridge, . ^ . . 847,953 

" " Bell, . . ' . . 590,631 

The electoral vote stood as follows : For Lincoln, 180 -, for Breckenridge, 

72 ; for Bell, 39 ; for Douglas, 12. 

Mr. Lincoln was thus elected by a plurality of the popular vote, which 
secured for him the electoral votes of eighteen States. These States were 
entirely north of the sectional line, and he received not a single electoral 
vote from a Southern State. The States which cast their electoral votes 
for Breckenridge, Bell, and Douglas, were entirely slaveholding. The 
division thus made was alarming. It was the first time in the history of 
the republic that a president had been elected by the votes of a single 
section of the Union. 

The state in which the presidential election left the country was most 
alarming. The excitement was higher than it had been before the strug- 
gle at the polls. The Gulf States had declared at an early period of the 
political campaign that they would withdraw from the Union in the event 
of the election of a Republican president. The people of the south gen- 
erally regarded the result of the election as an evidence of the determina- 
tion of the Northern States to use the power of the federal government 
to destroy the institution of slavery. The disunion leaders exerted them- 
selves to deepen this conviction, and to arouse the fears of the south. On 
the other hand, the Republican leaders took little pains to allay the ex- 
citement by declaring their intentions to execute faithfully the constitution 
and laws of the Union. Their declarations of fidelity to the Union were 
abundant, and were generally accompanied by equally plain assertions 
of their determination to oppose by force the withdrawal of the Southern 
States— declarations which were ill-suited to calm the fears of the south, 
or to encourage the party in that section which desired a perpetuation of 
the Union. A statesman of the Henry Clay school was needed at this 
crisis of our country's history as he had never been needed before; but, 
alas ! statesmanship of any kind was painfully wanting. 

As soon as the election of Mr. Lincoln was definitely ascertained, the 
legislature of South Carolina summoned a sovereign convention of the 
people of that State, which met on the 17th of December, 1860. This 
convention adopted an ordinance of secession on the 20th of December, 
and declared the State no longer a member of the Union. The reasons 
assigned for this action were thus stated by the convention : 



774 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

"An increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to 
the institution of slavery has led to a disregard of their obligations, and 
the laws of the general government have ceased to effect the objects of the 
constitution. The States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, 
Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa, have enacted laws which either 
nullify the acts o' Congress or render useless any attempt to execute 
them. In many of these States the fugitive is discharged from the ser- 
vice or labor claimed, and in none of them has the State government com- 
plied with the stipulations made in the constitution. . . . Thus the 
constitutional compact has been deliberately broken and disregarded by 
these non-slaveholding States, and the consequence follows that South 
Carolina is released from her obligation. 

" We affirm that these ends for which this government was instituted 
have been defeated, and the government itself has been made destructive 
of them by the action of non-slaveholding States^ Those States have 
assumed the right of deciding upon the propriety of our domestic institu- 
tions ; and have denied the rights of property established in fifteen of the 
States and recognized by the constitution ; they have denounced as sinful 
the institution of slavery ; they have permitted the open establishment 
among them of societies whose avowed object is to disturb the peace and 
to eloigne the property of citizens of other States. They have encouraged 
and assisted thousands of our slaves to leave their homes ; and those who 
remain have been incited by emissaries, books, and pictures to servile 
insurrection. 

"For twenty-five years this agitation has been steadily increasing, until 
it Inis now secured to its aid the power of the common government. 
Observing the forms of the constitution, a sectional party has found 
within that article establishing the executive department the means of 
subverting the constitution itself. A geographical line has been drawn 
across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the 
election of a man to the high office of president of the United States whose 
opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery. He is to be intrusted with 
the administration of the common government because he has declared 
that that 'government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free,' 
and that the public mind must rest in the belief that slavery is in the 
course of ultimate extinction. 

" This sectional combination for the subversion of the constitution has 
been aided in some of the States by elevating to citizenship persons who, 
by the sujjreme law of the land, are incapable of becoming citizens; and 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 775 

their votes have been used to inaugurate a new policy, hostile to the 
south, and destructive of its peace and safety. 

" On the 4th of March next this party will take possession of the gov- 
ernment. It has announced that the south shall be excluded from the 
common territory ; that the judicial tribunals shall be made sectional, and 
that a war must be waged against slavery until it shall cease throughout 
the United States. 

" The guarantees of the constitution will then no longer exist ; the 
equal rights of the States will be lost. The slaveholding States will no 
longer have the power of self-government or self-protection, and the 
federal government will become their enemy." 

These reasons were substantially the same as those avowed by the other 
Southern States in support of their action, and therefore we have quoted 
them at length. 

The example of South Carolina was followed by the other States of the 
far south, which summoned conventions and adopted ordinances of seces- 
sion. Mississippi withdrew from the Union on the 9th of January, 1861 ; 
Florida on the 10th of January ; Alabama on the 11th of January ; Geor- 
gia on the 19th of January; Louisiana on the 26th of January; and 
Texas on the 1st of February. The forts, arsenals, and other public 
property of the United States within the limits of these States were seized 
by the authorities of the States in which they were situated, and were 
held "by their troops, with the exception of Forts Moultrie and Sumter, in 
Charleston harbor, and Fort ^Pickens, at Pensacola. 

Fort Moultrie was occupied by Major Robert Anderson, of the United 
States array, with a garrison of eighty men. Becoming alarmed at the 
rapid concentration of troops in Charleston, Major Anderson evacuated 
the fort on the night of December 25th, 1860, and threw himself with 
his command into Fort Sumter, which was built in the .bay at some dis- 
tance from either shore. The State troops at once occupied Fort Moul- 
trie, and began to erect batteries of heavy guns at different points along 
the harbor for the reduction of Fort Sumter. 

Fort Pickens was held by a garrison under Lieutenant Slemmer. The 
State of Florida occupied the navy yard at Pensacola and the other forts 
in that harbor with her troops. 

The property of the general government seized by the seceded States 
amounted to over twenty millions of dollars in value. 

The position of the general government was one of great difficulty. The 
president was called upon either to recognize the lawfulness of the acts of the 
seceded States, and thus to join in the work of dissolving the Union, or to 
maintain the authority of the federal government, and compel the submission 



776 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



of the Southern States to the constitution and laws of the land. The 
government was almost powerless to enforce its authority. The army, 
but sixteen thousand strong, was stationed upon the remote frontier, and 
the available vessels of the navy were nearly all absent on foreign ser- 
vice. Many of the most prominent federal officials, including several of 
the cabinet ministers, were in open sympathy with the seceded States. 
The president's position was unquestionably embarrassing, but he made 
no use of the means at his command. General Scott, the veteran com- 
mander of the army, believed that prompt action on the part of the gen- 
eral government would confine the evil to the six cotton States, and urged 
the president to act with vigor. Mr. Buchanan was sorely perplexed, 
and seemed chiefly anxious to postpone all definite action until the inau- 




THE CAPITOL AT MONTGUMEKY, ALABAMA, PLACE OF MEETING OF THE FIRST 
CONFEDERATE CONGRESS. 

guration of his successor. He was in favor of conceding everything out 
separate independence to the south, failing to perceive that the leaders of 
the secession movement would accept nothing but separation ; and by his 
timidity lost the advantages which the government would have gained by 
a bold, firm course. 

As Major Anderson Avas short of supplies and needed reinforcements, 
the steamship " Star of the West " was despatched by the governmeut to 
Charleston with provisions and a detachment of two hundred and fifty 
men to his assistance. She reached Charleston on the 9th of January, 
1861, and attempted to enter the harbor, but was fired upon by the South 
Carolina batteries, and turned back. 



TH£ ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 777 

The president was urged by the friends of the south to order Major 
Anderson to evacuate Fort Sumter and return to Fort Moultrie, but re- 
fused to do so. South Carolina then offered to purchase Fort Sumter 
from the general government for its full value, but the president refused 
to make the sale. 

Immediately upon their withdrawal from the Union the six seceded 
States began to concert measures for their common protection. Delegates 
were elected to a convention which met at Montgomery, Alabama, on the 
4th of February, 1861, to devise a plan for this purpose. The conven- 
tion at once proceeded to organize a new republic, for which they adopted 
the name of The Confederate States of America. On the 8th of February, 
a provisional constitution having been adopted, the convention elected 
Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, president, and Alexander H. Stephens, of 
Georgia, vice-president of the Confederate 
States. The action of the convention was 
sustained by all the States comprising the 
new confederacy, and the provisional gov- 
ernment at once entered upon its duties. 

Jefferson Davis was a native of Ken- 
tucky, and was born on the 3d of June, 
1808. His father had removed to Mis- 
sissippi during his early childhood, and he 
had grown up* to manhood in that State. 
He was educated at the West Point Mili- 
tary Academy, from which he was grad- 
ated in 1828, and passed the next seven jeffer,son davis. 
years of his life in the army. He 

served with distinction during the Black Hawk war and against the 
Indian tribes on the frontier. Entering into politics after his withdrawal 
from the army, he was soon sent to represent his State in Congress, in 
which body he served until the commencement of the Mexican war. 
During that struggle he commanded the Mississippi Rifles, and distin- 
guished himself greatly in the battles of General Taylor's army, and 
especially at Buena Vista. 

Upon his return home he was chosen to represent Mississippi in the 
Senate of the United States. Upon the inauguration of President Pierce 
he accepted a seat in the cabinet as secretary of war. Returning to the 
Senate after the close of Mr. Pierce's administration, he remained in that 
body until the secession of Mississippi, when he resigned his seat and re- 
turned home. He was now in his fifty-third year, and was regarded as 
one of the most brilliant public men in America. His election was gen- 




778 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



erally looked upon in the south as a concession to the more conservative 
portion of the southern people, for he had not been considered as one of 
the original or most ultra secession leaders. 

The conservative elements of both sections made great efforts to bring 
about a reconciliation. The State of Virginia called upon all the States 
to send delegates to an informal peace congress to meet in Washington, 
This body assembled in February. Twenty States were represented in 

it — thirteen northern and seven southern — 
and the venerable ex-President Tyler was 
chosen to preside over its deliberations. 
Various plans of settlement were proposed, 
and a committee, consisting of one member 
from each State, was appointed to prepare 
a plan upon which the congress could unite. 
In due time it made its report to the con- 
gress, and after a careful and elaborate 
discussion the resolutions were adopted, 
and were ordered to be laid before the rival 
governments. The congress then ad- 
journed. The plan proposed by this body 
pleased neither side. The Southern States 
were not satisfied with the guarantees it offered for the protection of their 
rights in the matter of slavery ; and the Northern States were unwilling 
to sanction a more rigid enforcement of the constitutional provision for 
the rendition of fugitive slaves. The effort to close the breach between 
the States only served to widen it. 

Matters were in this unhappy and excited condition when the admin- 
istration of Mr. Buchanan came to a close. After the inauguration of his 
successor, he retired to his home at Wheatland, near Lancaster, Penn- 
sylvania. 




A. H. STEPHENS. 




CHAPTER XLI. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN — THE CIVIL WAR. 

Inauguration of President Lincoln — His History — The Confederate Commissioners at 
Washington — Attack upon Fort Sumter by the Confederates — The President calls for 
Troops — Kesponse of the North and West — Secession of the Border States — Opening 
Events of the War in Virginia — Withdrawal of West Virginia — Admitted into the 
Union as a separate State — Meeting of Congress — The West Virginia Campaign — Bat- 
tle of Bull Kun — The War in Missouri — Kentucky Occupied — The Blockade — Capture 
of Port Royal — The " Trent " Aifair — Insurrection in East Tennessee — State of Affairs at 
the Opening of the Year 1862 — Edwin M. Stanton made Secretary of War — Capture of 
Forts Henry and Donelson — The Confederates fall back from Kentucky — Battle of 
Shiloh — Capture of Island No. 10 — Evacuation of Corinth — Capture of Memphis — 
Bragg's Kentucky Campaign — His Retreat into Tennessee — Battles of luka and Corinth 
— Battle of Murfreesboro', or Stone River — Grant's Campaign against Vicksburg — Its 
Failure — The War beyond the Mississippi — Battle of Pea Ridge-^-Capture of Roanoke 
Island — Capture of New Orleans — Surrender of Fort Pulaski — The War in Virginia — 
Johnston's Retreat from Centreville — Battle between the " Monitor" and " Virginia" — The 
Move to the Peninsula — Johnston Retreats to the Chickahominy — Battle of Seven Pines 
— Jackson's Successes in the Valley of Virginia — The Seven Days' Battles before Rich- 
mond — Battle of Cedar Mountain — Defeat of General Pope's Army — Lee Invades 
Maryland — Capture of Harper's Ferry — Battles of South Mountain and Antietam— 
Retreat of Lee into Virginia — McClellan Removed — Battle of Fredericksburg. 

1^ BRAHAM LINCOLN, the sixteenth president of the United 
States, was inaugurated at Washington on the 4th of March, 
1861. As it was feared that an attempt would be made to pre- 
vent the inauguration, the city was held by a strong body of 
regular troops, under General Scott, and the president-elect was 
escorted from his hotel to the capitol by a military force. No effort was 
made to interfere with the ceremonies, and the inauguration passed off 
quietly. 

The new president was in his fifty-third year, and was a native of 
Kentucky. When he was but eight years old his father removed to 
Indiana, and the boyhood of the future president was spent in hard labor 
upon the farm. Until he reached manhood he continued to lead this 
life, and during this entire period attended school for only a year. At 
the age of twenty-one he removed to Illinois, where he began life as a 
storekeeper. Being anxious to rise above his humble position, he deter- 
mined to study law. He was too poor to buy the necessary books, and 

779 




780 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

SO borrowed them from a neighboring lawyer, read them at night, 
and returned them in the morning. His genial character, great good 
nature, and love of humor, won him the friendship of the peoj^le among 
whom he resided, and they elected him to the lower house of the legisla- 
ture of Illinois. He now abandoned his mercantile pursuits, and began 
the practice of the law, and was subsequently elected a representative to 
Congress from the Springfield district. He took an active part in the 
politics of his State, and in 1858 was the candidate of the Republican 
party for United States senator. In this capacity he engaged in a series 
of debates in various parts of the State with Senator Douglas, the Demo- 
cratic candidate for re-election to the same position. This debate was 
remarkable for its brilliancy and intellectual vigor, and brought him 
prominently before the whole country, and opened the way to his nomina- 
tion for the presidency. In person he was tall and ungainly, and in man- 
ner he was rough and awkward, little versed in the 
refinements of society. He was a man, however, 
of great natural vigor of intellect, and was pos- 
sessed of a fund of strong common sense, M'hich 
enabled him to see at a glance through the 
shams by which he was surrounded, and to pur- 
sue his own aims with singleness of heart and 
directness of purpose. He had sprung from the 
ranks of the people, and he was never false to 
them. He was a simple, unaiFected, kind-hearted 
man; anxious to do his duty to the whole 
. ^T, . TT . « X ,vrr>r.T ^T country ; domestic in his tastes and habits ; and 
incorruptible in every relation of life. He Avas 
fond of humor, and overflowed with it; finding in his "little stories" 
the only relaxation he ever sought from the heavy cares of the trj-ing 
position upon which he was now entering. He selected his cabinet from 
the leading men of the Republican party, and placed William H. Seward, 
of New York, at its head as secretary of state. 

Mr. Lincoln was sincerely anxious to avoid everything which might 
precipitate the civil strife ; but at the same time was determined to main- 
tain the authority of the general government over the seceded States. In 
his inaugural address he declared his purpose to collect the public reve- 
nues at the ports of the seceded States, and to "hold, occupy, and 
possess" the forts, arsenals, and other public property seized by those 
States. At the time of his entrance upon the duties of his office Fort 
Sumter and Fort Pickens were still held by the federal forces. 

The Confederate government was convinced that war was inevitable ; 




THE ADMINISTRATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



781 



and since its inauguration had been preparing for the coming struggle. 
Nearly all the officers of the array and navy of the United States, who 
were natives of the seceded States, resigned their commissions in the old 
service, and were given similar positions in the army of the Confederate 
States. The forces collected at Charleston and Pensacola were reinforced 




ARKIVAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN AT THE CAPITOL. 



by troops from other States, and the command at the former place was 
conferred upon General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, and at the latter upon 
General Braxton Bragg, both of whom had been distinguished officers of 
the old army. 

Just before the close of Mr. Buchanan's term of office the Confederate 
government despatched John Forsyth, of Alabama, Martin J. Crawford, 



782 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



of Georgia, and A. B. Roman, of Louisiana, to Washington as commis- 
sioners to endeavor to effect a peaceable adjustment of the matters at issue 
between the two governments, and to treat for an equitable division of 
the public property of the United States. Mr. Buchanan refused to 
receive the commissioners in their official capacity, and after the inaugura- 
tion of the new administration they addressed a note to Mr, Seward, the 
new secretary of state, setting forth the objects of their mission, and 
soliciting an official interview with the president. Mr. Seward declined 
to receive them in their official capacity, but answered them verbally 
through Mr. Justice John A. Campbell, of the Supreme Court of the 
United States, that he was in favor of a peaceful settlement of the diffi- 
culty, and that the troops would be withdrawn from Fort Sumter in less 
than ten days. Mr. Seward's object appears to have been to deceive the 




STATE-HOUSE, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. 

commissioners, and lull their suspicions, in order to gain time for the 
preparations which had been determined upon for the relief of Fort 
Sumter. 

In the meantime, the government having resolved to reinforce and 
provision Fort Sumter at all hazards, every nerve was strained to carry 
out this design before it should become known to the Confederates. A)i 
expedition consisting of seven shi])s, carrying two hundred and eighty- 
five guns and twenty-four hundred men, was prepared at New York and 
Norfolk. The southern commissioners, -whose suspicions had been allayed 
by Mr. Seward's message, were alarmed by the rumors of these prepara- 
tions, which they suspected were for the relief of Fort Sumter. They 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



783 



waited upon Judge Campbell to ask an explanation, and that gentleman, 
on the 7th of April, addressed a note to Mr. Seward asking if the assur- 
ances he had given were well or ill founded. Mr. Seward replied as 
follows : " Faith as to Sumter fully kept ; wait and see.". 

In the meantime the expedition had sailed from New York and Nor- 
folk, and was on its way to Charleston harbor. On the 8th of April, 
1861, Governor Pickens, of South Carolina, was notified by the general 
government of its intention to relieve Fort Sumter at all hazards, and of 
the sailing of the fleet for that purpose. Governor Pickens at once 
informed General Beauregard of this notification, and the news was 
telegraphed by him to the Confederate government at Montgomery. 

The Confederate secretary of war thereupon ordered General Beaure- 
gard to demand the immediate surrender of Fort Sumter ; " and if this 
should be refused to proceed to reduce it." On the 11th of April Gen- 
eral Beauregard demanded of Major Anderson the surrender of the fort. 




FORT SUMTER. 



The demand was refused in writing ; but Major Anderson added verbally 
to the messenger, " I will await the first shot, and if you do not batter us 
to pieces, we will be starved out in a few days." Beauregard telegraphed 
this remark with Anderson's reply to his government, and was answered, 
" Do not desire needlessly to bombard Fort Sumter. If Major Anderson 
will state the time at which, as indicated by himself, he will evacuate, and 
agree that, in the meantime, he will not use his guns against us unless 
ours should be employed against Fort Sumter, you are authorized thus 
to avoid the effusion of blood. If this or its equivalent be refused, reduce 
the fort, as your judgment decides most practicable." The federal 
fleet was on its way to Charleston, and if the attack of the Confederates 
was to be made at all, no time was to be lost. General Beauregard, 
therefore, gave Major Anderson warning that he should open fire upon 
Fort Sumter at half-past four o'clock the next morning. 

At the designated hour on the morning of April 12th, the Confederate 



784 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

batteries opened fire upon Fort Sumter, which replied to them with spirit. 
The bombardment lasted over thirty-two hours, and the fort was greatly 
damaged, and many of the guns were dismounted. The fleet arrived off 
the harbor during the bombardment, but remained in the offing, and took 
no part in the engagement. Not a single life was lost in this memorable 
battle. Late in the afternoon of the 13th, Major Anderson agreed to 
capitulate, and the firing ceased. The victors granted liberal terms to 
Anderson and his men, whose heroism had aroused their warmest admi- 
ration; and on the morning of Sunday, April 14th, the fort was surren- 
dered to the Confederate forces, and JNIajor Anderson and the garrison 
embarked in one of the vessels of the fleet, which at once sailed for New 
York. 

The attack upon Fort Sumter put an end to the last hope of peace, 
and aroused the most intense excitement in both sections of the country. 
On the 15th of April President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling 
upon the States to furnish seventy-five thousand troops for the suppres- 
sion of the rebellion, and convening Congress in extra session on the 4th 
of July. The Northern and Western States responded with enthusiasm 
to the president's call for troops, and at once began to forward their 
quotas to the points designated by the war department. 

The enthusiasm in the south was fully equal to that of the north. The 
Confederate government issued a call for volunteers to repel the threat- 
ened invasion of the federal forces, and it was responded to with alacrity. 

Until now the States of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennes- 
see, Kentucky, Arkansas and Missouri, generally known as the Border 
States, had remained in the Union, hoping to be able to effect a peaceable 
settlement of the quarrel. Their sympathies were with the Southern 
States, and it was generally believed that in the event of war they would 
cast their lots M'ith those States. Each of these States was included in the 
call of President Lincoln for troops. The governors of most of them re- 
plied by refusing to furnish the quotas required of them, and by de- 
nouncing the })resident's demand as illegal. Conventions of the people 
were held, and all but Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri withdrew from 
the Union. The secession of Virginia took place on the 17th of April; 
that of Arkansas on the 6th of ISIay ; that of North Carolina on the 20th 
of i\Iay ; and that of Tennessee on the 8th of June. These States subse- 
quently ratified the constitution of the Confederate States, and became 
members of the new republic. Kentucky and Missouri remained neutral. 

The passage of the act of secession by the Virginia convention was 
kept secret for a day or two in order to give the authorities of that State 
an opportunity to seize the United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry, and 



THE CIVIL WAE. 



785 



the navy yard at Portsmouth. The officer in command of the arsenal, 
upon hearing of the approach of a force of Virginia troops, destroyed a 
number of the muskets stored there, set fire to the buildings, and re- 
treated into Pennsylvania. The Virginians extinguished the flames and 
secured a large quantity of arms and equipments and the valuable ma- 
chinery for the manufacture of arms. The connnandant of the navy yard 
at Portsmouth, upon the approach of the Virginians, made no attempt to 
defend his post, but spiked the cannon, burned or sunk the war vessels 
lying in the harbor, set fire to the buildings, and retreated with two war 




HARPER S FERRY. 



gtearaers. The navy yard was at once occupied by the Virginians, who 
secured nearly two thousand pieces of cannon, and an immense quantity 
of stores and munitions of all kinds. The governors of the seceded 
Border States issued calls for volunteers immediately upon the withdrawal 
of their States. Men came forward in such large numbers that arms 
could not be provided for all of them. The prominent points of danger 
in Virginia were occupied and fortified by the State troops ; but the con- 
trol of the military affairs in all the Border States soon passed into the 
hands of the Confederate government. 

As it was certain that the first operations of the war would take place 
upon the borders of Virginia, the city of Richmond was made the capital 
50 



•8G 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



of the Confederate States, and on the 21st of May the Confederate gov- 
ernment was removed to that city. 

The western part of the State of Virginia refused to join the remainder 
of the State in its withdrawal from tlie Union. On the 11th of June, 

1861, the people of the western counties met in convention at Wheeling, 
declared their independence of the old State, organized a State govern- 
ment, and proclaimed their intention to remain faithful to the Union. 
The action of this convention was sustained by the federal government, 
and on the 2Gth of I^ovember, 1861, another con ventionmet at Wheeling, 
and adopted a constitution for the new State of West Virginia. This 
constitution was rati^ed by the people at the polls on the 3d of May, 

1862, and application Mas made for the admission of West Virginia into 
the Union as a State, which was accomplished by act of Congress on the 
20th of June, 1863. 

In the meantime the federal government set to work with energy to 
prepare for the struggle before it. The call of President Lincoln for 
troops had been answered by three hundred thousand volunteers. On 

the 17th of April, two days after the 
president's proclamation, the Sixth 
ISIassachusetts regiment left Boston 
for Washington. In passing through 
Baltimore it was attacked by a crowd 
of citizens who sympathized with 
the south, and three soldiers were 
killed and eight wounded. Several 
The regiment reached Washington 
the same day, and was soon joined by other troops from the Northern 
States. In a short time the force at the capital was sufficient to put an 
end to all fears for its safety. Alexandria and the Virginia shore oppo- 
site Washington were seized and fortified. Baltimore was occupied by a 
force under General Butler, and the communications of Washington with 
the north and west were made sure. On the 1 9th of April the president 
issued a proclamation declaring all the southern ports in a state of block- 
ade ; and on the 3d of May he put forth another proclamation ordering 
the regular army of the United States to be increased to sixty-four thou- 
sand seven hundred and forty-eight men, and the navy to eighteen thou- 
sand seamen. On the 10th of May he issued a fourth proclamation, 
suspending the writ of habeas ^oi-jnis in certain localities, and authority to 
sus]iend this privilege was conferred upon the commanders of military 
dejiartments soon afterward. 

Under the instructioBS of tlie gos^eramienl; these commanders now pro- 




COAT OF ARMS OF WEST VIKOINIA. 



citizens Avere killed and wounded. 



THE CIVIL WAR. 787 

ceeded to arrest great numbers of persons in various parts of the country 
who were suspected of sympathizing with the south. They were im- 
prisoned at the military posts, and were denied trial by the civil courts. 
John Merryman, a citizen of Maryland, was one of the persons so ar- 
rested. His friends applied for redress to the chief-justice of the United 
States, who held the suspension of the habeas corpus act by the president 
to be unconstitutional, and ordered the discharge of the prisoner. The 
government paid no attention to this decision, and held the prisoner in 
confinement. A little later the legislature of Maryland, which was 
strongly southern in its sympathies, was prevented from meeting by the 
sudden arrest and imprisonment of a large number of its members by 
order of the secretary of war. 

On the 4th of July, 1861, Congress convened in extra session at 
Washington, in accordance with the president's proclamation. This body 
proceeded to give to the government a prompt and effectual support. 
Resolutions were introduced to legalize the extraordinary acts of the pres- 
ident in setting aside the writ of habeas corpus, in ordering the arbitrary 
arrest and confinement of citizens, and in assuming certain other powers 
which belonged to Congress. Congress refused to throw over these acts, 
however necessary, the sanction of the law ; but in view of the necessity 
of prompt and vigorous action on the part of the president excused his 
acts on the distinct ground of the " necessities of war." Measures were 
adopted without delay for putting in the field an army of five hundred 
and twenty-five thousand men, and for equipping a powerful navy ; and 
the sum of -five hundred millions of dollars was appropriated for the 
prosecution of the war. During this session Congress also adopted a 
solemn resolution declaring " that this war is not prosecuted on our part 
in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjuga- 
tion, nor for the purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or 
established institutions of those [the seceded] States ; but to defend and 
maintain the supremacy of the constitution and all laws made in pursu- 
ance thereof, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality and 
rights of the several States unimpaired ; that as soon as these objects are 
accomplished the war ought to cease." 

In the meantime the Confederates had collected troops at important 
points to resist the advance of the federal troops into Virginia. A force 
under Brigadier-General Garnett was stationed in West Virginia to cover 
the approaches from that direction ; Harper's Ferry, which commanded 
the entrance into the valley of Virginia, was held by an army of seven 
thousand or eight thousand men, under General Joseph E. Johnston ; a 
much larger force, under General Beauregard, took position near Manas- 



788 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



sas Junction, about thirty miles from Washington ; and a column of several 
thousand men, under General John B. Magruder, was stationed at York- 
town, on the peninsula between the York and James rivers, to cover 
Richmond from the direction of Fortress Monroe at the mouth of Hamp- 
ton Roads, which was still held by the federal troops. Norfolk was also 
held by a strong force. With the exception of that occupied by General 
Garnett's command, all these positions were carefully fortified. 

The Union army at Fortress Monroe numbered about twelve thousand 
men, and was commanded by General B. F. Butler. Early in June, 
Magruder moved a force of eighteen hundred men and several pieces of 
artillery from Yorktown, and took position at Bethel Church, about half 





STATE HOUSE, COLUMBUS, OHIO. 

way between Yorktown and Plampton. On the 10th of June he was 
attacked by a force of four thousand troops under General Pierce, of 
Massachusetts, but succeeded in repulsing the attack and maintaining his 
position. 

In the opposite quarter of the State, the Union forces were more suc- 
cessful. In order to prevent the Confederates from overrunning West 
Virginia, a strong body of Ohio and Indiana troops under General 
George B. McClellan was sent into that region. McClellan set to work 
at once to drive the Confederates out of West Virginia, and on the 3d of 
June a portion of his command under General Kelley defeated General 



THE CIVIL WAR. 789 

Garnett at Philippi. McClellan now advanced against the main body of 
Garnett's forces. On the 11th of July he attacked the command of 
Colonel Pegram at Rich Mountain, and defeated it. This defeat com- 
pelled General Garnett to fall back towards the valley of Virginia. He 
was pursued by McClellan and overtaken at Carrick's ford, on the Cheat 
river. In the battle which ensued here Garnett was killed, and the 
remnant of his command was driven beyond the mountains. 

The United States had assembled a considerable army of volunteers 
and regulars at Washington under Major-General Irwin McDowell. On 
the 24th of May Alexandria, on the Virginia side of the Potomac, nine 
miles below Washington, was seized by a detachment from this army. 
Its commander, Colonel Ellsworth, was killed by a citizen. Strong de- 
fences were erected on the Virginia shore between Washington and Alex- 
andria, and the army was encamped within these lines. Two months 
were passed in organizing and disciplining this force, and in the meantime 
the people of the Northern and Western States became impatient of the 
delay, and demanded an immediate advance upon the southern army and 
Richmond. 

Preparatory to his own advance General McDowell sent General Pat- 
terson with twenty thousand men to cross the Potomac at Williamsport, 
and prevent General Johnston from leaving the valley and joining Beau- 
regard at Manassas. Upon the arrival of Patterson on the upper Poto- 
mac, General Johnston evacuated Harper's Ferry and took position at 
Winchester. Patterson made a considerable show of force in the valley, 
but refrained from attacking Johnston, although the latter sought to in- 
duce him to do so. He took position about nine miles from Winchester, 
and remained inactive there. 

. In the meantime the preparations for the advance of McDowell's army 
were completed, and on the 17th of July he began his march from the 
Potomac towards Bull Run, on the banks of which the Confederates were 
posted. His army numbered over fifty thousand men, and forty-nine 
pieces of artillery. As soon as the advance of this army was known to 
him. General Beauregard informed General Johnston of it, and begged 
him to come to his assistance. Johnston skilfully eluded Patterson's 
army, and hastened to Bull Run, arriving there with a part of his com- 
mand in time to take part in the battle. 

The Confederate army had taken position behind Bull Run, and in 
advance of Manassas Junction. Including the force brought by General 
Johnston, who assumed the chief command by virtue of his rank, it 
consisted of thirty-one thousand four hundred and thirty-one men and 
fifty-five guns. 



790 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

On the 18th of July General McDowell attempted to force a passage 
of Bull Run at Blackburn's ford, but was repulsed. On the morning of 
the 21st, the Union army advanced in force, and endeavored to turn the 
left of the southern line. An obstinately-contested battle ensued, which 
lasted from sunrise until nearly sunset. It resulted in the total defeat of 
the federal army, which was driven back in utter rout upon Alexandria 
and Washington, with a loss of between four and five thousand men in 
killed, wounded and prisoners, and twenty-eight pieces of artillery. 

For a while the eifects of this disaster upon the federal army were so 
great that Washington was almost defenceless ; but the Confederates 
made no effort to follow up their victory. They were almost as badly 
demoralized by their success as the Union army by its defeat. 

Recovering from the dismay of its first great reverse, the government 
went to work with vigor to repair the disaster. The levy of five hun- 
dred thousand men ordered by Congress was 
raised promptly and without difficulty, so eager 
was the desire of the people to wipe out the dis- 
grace of Bull Run. At his own request General 
Scott, whose bodily infirmities were so great as to 
render him unable to discharge the duties of his 
position, was relieved of the command of the 
army. Major-Gencral George B. McClellan was 
given the chief command of the armies of the 
GEN. p. G. T. BEAUKEGAKD. Uuion, and ordcrcd to take charge of the force 
assembling before AVashington, which was named 
the Army of the Potomac. He devoted himself with success to the task 
of organizing and disciplining the recruits which came pouring in during 
the fall and winter. 

The remainder of the year 1861 passed away quietly on the Potomac, 
with the single exception of the battle of I^cesburg. Colonel Baker with 
a force of two thousand men was sent by General Stone to cross the 
Potomac at Edward's ferry, and drive back the Confederate force under 
General Evans from its position near Lccsburg. He made his attack on 
the 21st of October, but was repulsed with the loss of eight hundred 
killed and wounded, being himself among the slain. The Confederate 
army held its position at Centreville tlirough the fall and winter, and at 
one time its outposts were pushed forward within view of the city of 
Washington. 

In the fall of 18G1 an army often thousand men was sent by the Con- 
federate government into the valley of Virginia to prevent its occu])ation 
by the federal forces. The command of these troops was conferred ui)on 




THE CIVIL WAR. 79I 

General T. J. Jackson, whose conspicuous gallantry at Bull Run had won 
him the sobriquet of "Stonewall Jackson," by which he was afterwards 
known by both armies. He established his head-quarters at Winchester. 

In the meantime the war had been going on in western Virginia. 
After the transfer of General McClellan to Washington the command of 
the Union forces passed to Brigadier-General Rosecranz, an able officer. 
He had several indecisive encounters with the commands of Generals 
Floyd and Wise in the region of the Gauley and New rivers. General 
Robert E. Lee was sent by the Confederate government to assume the 
chief command in the west. He attacked the brigade of General Rey- 
nolds at Cheat mountain on the 14th of September, but was repulsed and 
obliged to retreat. On the 4th of October General Reynolds attacked a 
Confederate force under General Henry R. Jackson on the Greenbrier 
river, but was repulsed. 

The State of Missouri took no part in the secession movements of the 
sj)ring of 1861. Her j)eople were divided ; a large party sympathized 
with the south ; but a still larger party was determined that the State 
should remain in the Union. These parties soon came in coftflict. The 
governor and leading officials of the State were in favor of secession, and 
used all their influence to bring about the withdrawal of Missouri from 
the Union. A camp of the State militia was formed near St. Louis, and 
was called Camp Jackson in honor of the governor. It was known that 
the force assembled at this camp was intended to serve as a nucleus 
around which an army hostile to the federal government might assemble. 
By extraordinary exertions Colonel Francis P. Blair, Jr., a member of 
Congress from St. Louis, and Captain Nathaniel Lyon, commanding the 
troops at the Jefferson barracks, near St. Louis, succeeded in collecting a 
force of five regiments of Union volunteers. On the 10th of May, 1861, 
Lyon with these five regiments suddenly surrounded Camp Jackson, and 
compelled General Frost, the commanding officer, to surrender his whole 
force, camp and equipments. By this prompt action the State forces were 
prevented from carrying out their plan for seizing the United States 
arsenal at St. Louis, which contained sixty thousand stand of arms of the 
latest patterns, and a number of cannon, and a large quantity of ammuni- 
tion. For this decisive action Captain Lyon was commissioned a briga- 
dier-general by the president. 

Satisfied that the desire of the southern party in Missouri to remain 
neutral was but a pretext to gain time to arm the State for a union with 
the Confederates, President Lincoln determined to compel all the State 
forces not in the federal service to disband. An interview was held at 
St. Louis on the 11th of June between Governor Jackson and General 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



793 




GEN. STERLING PKICE. 



Lyon, now commanding the federal troops in Missouri. Governor Jack- 
son demanded that no United States forces should be quartered in or 
marched through Missouri. General Lyon refused to comply with this 
demand, and insisted that the State forces should be disbanded, pledging 
himself to respect the rights and privileges of the State. At the close of 
the interview the governor returned to Jefferson City, the capital of the 
State, and the next day, the 12th, issued his proc- 
lamation calling fifty thousand of the State 
militia into active service for the purpose of 
driving the federal troops from the State, and 
protecting the " lives, liberty and property of the 
citizens." General Lyon at once marched upon 
Jefferson City, and •ccupied it on the 15th, the 
governor and his supporters having retired to the 
interior of the State. On the 17th Lyon pro- 
ceeded to Booneville and defeated the State troops 
stationed there under General Price. 

The southwestern part of Missouri is rich in deposits of lead, and val- 
uable mines of this mineral are worked there. The State authorities 
were anxious to hold this region, as it was of the highest importance to 
them to obtain the use of these mines to supply their army with lead. A 
column of federal troops under General Sigel was sent by General Lyon 
to intercept the retreat of the State troops. On the 5th of July Sigel 
attacked the State troops under Governor Jackson 
at Carthage, but was repulsed. 

The next day, July 6th, Governor Jackson Avas 
joined at Carthage by General Sterling Price, of 
the Missouri State Guard, and General Ben 
McCulloch, of the Confederate army, Avith sev- 
eral thousand men. The command of the "whole 
force was conferred upon General McCulloch, 
MAjoR^ENERAL F. SIGEL. who had bccn ordered by his government to 
advance into Missouri. The southern army, 
according to General McCulloch's statement, numbered fifty-three hun- 
dred infantry, six thousand mounted men, and fifteen pieces of artillery. 
It advanced rapidly into the interior of the State, and on the 9th of 
August reached Wilson's creek, near Springfield. General Lyon had 
taken position there with a force somewhat smaller than that of the Con- 
federates. On the morning of the 10th he attacked the southern army. 
The battle lasted six hours, and was hotly contested. General Lyon was 
killed at the head of his troops while endeavoring to turn the left flank 




794 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of the Confederates, and his army was forced back. His body was left 
in the hands of the Confederates, who treated it with becoming respect. 

Springfield was occupied by the Confederates the day after the battle ; 
but McCulIoch and Price being unable to agree upon the plan of the 
campaign, they soon withdrew to the Arkansas border. The Union 
army after the battle withdrew to RoUa, near the centre of the State. 

A few weeks later General Price with a force of over five thousand 
Confederates laid siege to Lexington, on the Missouri river, which was 
held by about three thousand men under Colonel Mulligan. After a 
gallant defence Mulligan was forced to surrender on the 20th of Sep- 
tember. 

Major-General John C. Fremont was now appointed by President Lin- 
coln to take command of the western army. He forted Price's command 
back into the southwestern part of the State. Arriving near Springfield, 
Fremont prepared to bring the Confederates to a decisive engagement, but 
on the 2d of November was removed from his com- 
mand. He was succeeded by General Hunter, who 
abandoned the pursuit, and fell back to St. Louis. On 
the 18th of November Hunter was sui)erseded by 
Major-General Halleck, who by a rapid advance 
drove Price once more towards the Arkansas border. 
This movement closed the campaign of 1861 in 
Missouri. The Union army had not only saved the 
MAj.-GEN. N. LYON. Statc to the Uuiou, but liad confined the Confed- 
erates to the Arkansas border. 
In the meantime Governor Jackson had summoned the legislature of 
Missouri to meet at Neosho. It assembled at that place in October, 
passed an ordinance of secession, and elected delegates and senators to the 
Confederate Congress. Though this action was merely formal, and re- 
ceived the support of but a small part of the people of Missouri, it was 
recognized as valid by the Confederate government, and Missouri was 
proclaimed one of the Confederate States. 

The governor and State authorities of Kentucky attempted at the out- 
set of the war to hold the position of armed neutrality between the par- 
ties to the contest ; but as in the case of IVIissouri, this effort failed. 
Neither the federal government nor that of the Southern Confederacy 
could, in the nature of things, respect this neutrality. The federal troops 
were poured into Kentucky, and the Confederates seized Columbus, on 
the ISIississippi, Bowling Green, in the centre of the State, and other 
positions in the western part. The southern ])arty in Kentucky, within 
the protection of the Confederate lines, organized a provisional govern- 




THE CIVIL WAB. 



795 



merit for the State, sent senators and representatives to the Congress at 
Richmond, which formally recognized Kentucky as one of the Confederate 
States. 

The force at Columbus was commanded by General Polk of the Con- 
federate army. At Belm(mt, on the Missouri shore of the river, imme- 
diately opposite Columbus, a body of Confederate troops was stationed. 
On the 7th of November, General U. S. Grant having descended the 
Mississippi from Cairo, attacked the force at Belmont with his command 
of three thousand men. After a sharp struggle he was repulsed, and 
forced to retreat to Cairo. 

At the outset of the war the Confederates occupied the principal ports 
of the south, and a number of prominent points on the Atlantic coast. 




STATE HOUSE, INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA. 



These were fortified by them as Avell as the means at hand would permit. 
The general government resolved to capture these as rapidly as possible, 
as their reduction was necessary in order to render the blockade of the 
southei^n coast effectual. The first expedition was despatched from 
Fortress Monroe in August, 1861, under Commodore Stringham and 
General Butler, and was directed against the Confederate works at 
Hatteras inlet, which commanded the entrance to Albemarle and Pamlico 
sounds. These works were captured on the 29th of August. 

The great extent of the coast to be blockaded by the navy made it 
necessary that a good harbor at some central point should be secured, 
where supplies could be stored for the fleet, and where vessels could refill 
without returning to the northern ports. Port Royal Harbor in South 



796 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




LIEUTKXAXT-GEXERAL POLK. 



Carolina was selected as the best place for this purpose. It was defended by 
Fort Walker on Hilton Head and Fort Beauregard on the opposite side of 
the harbor. A powerful naval and military expedition under Commodore 
Dupont and General Thomas W. Sherman attacked these works on the 
7th of November, and reduced them after a terrible bombardment by the 
fleet. Port Royal was at once occupied by the expedition, and during 

the war was the principal depot on the southern 
coast for the fleets and armies of the Union. 

It was not possible, however, to render the 

l)lockade effective. Great efforts were made to 

increase the number of vessels employed in this 

duty, but the Confederates succeeded in eluding 

tlie Union cruisers almost at pleasure, and a 

steady communication was maintained between 

rlie southern ports and England by way of the 

West Indies. A number of armed vessels in 

tlie service of the confederacy succeeded in 

getting to sea. By the close of the year they 

had inflicted severe damage upon the commerce of the Northern States, 

and had almost driven the foreign trade of the United States from the 

ocean. 

During the early part of the war the southern government was encour- 
aged to hope that the governments of England and France would recognize 
the independence of the Confederate States, and 
in the fall of 18G1, James M. Mason of Virginia 
and John Slidell of Louisiana were ordered to 
proceed to Europe, as commissioners from the 
Confederate States, to secure this recognition. 
They sailed from Charleston on the 12th of 
October, and reached Cuba in safety. There 
they took })assage for England on board the 
British mail-steamer " Trent." Hearing of 
this. Captain "Wilkes, of the United States war- 
steamer " San Jacinto," overhauled the " Trent " 
upon the high seas, boarded her, and seized the 

two commissioners and their secretaries and sailed with them to Boston 
harbor, where they were imprisoned in one of the forts. 

The "Trent" in the meantime proceeded on her voyage, and upon reaching 
England her commander informed the British government of the outrage 
that had been committed upon its flag. The English government at once 
demanded of President Lincoln the immediate and unconditional release 




JAMES M. IMASON. 



THE CIVIL WAR. 797 

of the Confederate commissioners and satisfaction for the insult to its flaer. 
It was understood that France was prepared to sustain England in her 
demands. The Federal government disavowed the action of Captain 
Wilkes in seizing the commissioners, and those gentlemen were released 
and allowed to continue their voyage. They reached England in due 
time. Mr. Mason proceeded to London and ]\Ir. Slidell to France. 
Neither the English nor the French governments Avould receive the 
commissioners officially. It was understood that the United States would 
regard the interference of either in the American quarrel as a cause of war, 
and neither power cared to join in the struggle. 

Tennessee seceded from the Union, as we have related, in the spring of 
1861. The western and central portions of the State were unanimously 
in favor of joining the Southern States and gave a hearty support to the 
confederacy during the war, but East Tennessee, inhabited by a race of 
hardy mountaineers, was devoted to the Union, 
and was unwilling to leave it. In the autumn 
of 1861 the East Tennesseeans took up arms 
against the Confederate government, and began 
to destroy the railway bridges in that part of 
the State. This movement was full of danger 
to tlie confederacy, as the principal line of com- 
munication between Virginia and the Missis- 
sippi passed through East Tennessee. A con- 
siderable force of Confederate troops was sent 
into East Tennessee to hold the people in sub- john slidell. 

jection and protect the railroads, but throughout 

the war the hostility of the people of this region was a constant source of 
danger and of weakness to the Confederates. 

When the year 1862 opened, the war had assumed colossal proportions. 
The military operations extended almost across the continent, and engaged 
a number of powerful armies, and a formidable navy. The call of Presi- 
dent Lincoln for troops had been cheerfully responded to, and the opening 
of the year found the United States provided with a force of over half a 
million of men, splendidly armed and equipped, and supplied with every- 
thing necessary for the successful prosecution of the war. The north had 
profited by its first reverses, and was resolved that its next effort, which 
was to be made at the opening of the season for active operations, should 
find it thoroughly prepared for the task it had undertaken. A cordial 
support was given to the measures of the government by the people. Its 
wants were supplied by means of a heavy loan which was readily negoti- 
ated with the capitalists of the Eastern States. From the moment that 




798 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the despondency caused by the reverse at Bull Run had subsided suffi- 
ciently to enable the people of the loyal States to face the situation calmly, 
every one saw that the work of preparation must all be done over from 
the beginning, and it was done bravely and thoroughly. During the fall 
and winter the army was rapidly increased ; vessels were purchased and 
built for the navy. 

The southern armies, on the other hand, had grown steadily weaker. 
The first successes of the Confederate troops had greatly demoralized the 
southern people. Volunteering soon ceased almost entirely. Even the 
heaviest bounties failed to bring recruits. There was a widespread 
delusion throughout the south that the war was practically ended. The 
measures of the Confederate Congress steadily thinned, instead of filling 
up the ranks of the southern armies, and when the new year dawned there 
was grave reason to fear that the spring campaign would find the south 
without an adequate army unless more vigorous measures were resorted to. 
It was exceedingly doubtful whether the troops already in the service 
would renew their enlistments, which expired in the spring of 1862. 
During the winter the Southern Congress adopted a law granting a fur- 
lough and a heavy bounty to every soldier who would re-enlist for the 
M^ar. The furlough was to be granted during the winter ; the bounty to 
be paid at a later period. Many of those who went home on these fur- 
loughs did so with the intention of remaining there ; and the practical 
effect of the measure was to diminish the strength of the Confederate 
armies. At length the Confederate Congress was driven by the neces- 
sities of the situation to adopt a most stringent and sweeping measure. 
On the 16th of April, 1862, a conscription act was passed, giving to the 
president of the confederacy the power to call into the military service the 
entire male population of the various States between the ages of eighteen 
and thirty-five years. In September, 1862, a second act was passed 
extending the conscript age to forty-five years. The measure was 
acquiesced in by the southern people, but was never popular with them. 
It served the purpose for which it was intended, however, and enabled 
the Confederate government to collect a force of several hundred thousand 
men in the spring of 1862, and thus to fill up the ranks of its armies in 
the field, and to retain the regiments already in the service. 

When the spring opened. General Halleck, whose head-quarters were at 
St. Louis, held Missouri against the Confederates with a powerful army. 
General Buell, with a considerable force, was stationed in central Kentucky. 
In his front an inferior force of Confederates, under General Albert Sidney 
Johnston, held Bowling Green and covered Nashville and the Tennessee 
and Cumberland rivers. They also held Columbus and other prominent 



THE CIVIL WAB. 799 

points on the Mississippi. The army of the Potomac, under General 
McClellan, lay along the Potomac, confronting the Confederate anny of 
Northern Virginia, which held Centreville. A considerable force Nvas 
collected at Fortress Monroe ; and an army of about ten thousand Con- 
federates, under Magruder, held a strongly fortified line extending from 
Yorktown across the peninsula to the James river. In addition to these 
forces, the Federal government had collected a powerful flotilla of steamers 
and gunboats at Cairo, the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, to 
assist in the operations of the western armies. The capture of New Orleans 
had been resolved upon, and a combined naval and military expedition 
under Commodore Farragut and General Butler was assembled for that 
purpose ; and another expedition was organized in the Chesapeake for the 
reduction of Roanoke island and the forts on the North Carolina coast. 

Soon after the opening of the new year, Mr. Cameron, whose adminis- 
tration of the war department had failed to give satisfaction to the country, 
was removed by President Lincoln, and sent to Russia as minister from 
the United States. The president on the 13th of January appointed 
Edwin M. Stanton, of Ohio, secretary of war. The new secretary was 
confessedly one of the ablest men in America, and his accession to the 
control of the war department infused new life into the military prepara- 
tions of the government. During the remainder of the war he occupied 
this position, and it is not too much to say that his vigorous administra- 
tion of his department was one of the chief causes of the final success of 
the Union arms. 

Active operations were resumed earlier in the west than in the east. 
On the 19th of January General George H. Thomas drove the Confeder- 
ates under General ZollicoiFer from Mill Spring in Kentucky. The 
defeated force had held the right of the Confederate line in Kentucky, 
the centre of which was at Bowling Green, and the left at Columbus, and 
its re\^erse was a serious disaster to the Confederates. 

The department of General Halleck embraced Kentucky in addition to 
the country west of the Mississippi. In order to hold the Cumberland 
and Tennessee rivers, which afforded water communication far back into 
the country in the rear of their line, the Confederates had built a work, 
known as Fort Henry, on the Tennessee, a little south of the Kentucky 
border, and another and a stronger work, known as Fort Donelson, on 
the Cumberland and a little below Nashville. At the solicitation of 
Brigadier-General U. S. Grant, commanding at Cairo, General Halleck 
determined to capture these forts, and so break the Confederate line, and 
compel their army to fall back from Kentucky. Fort Henry was to be 
first attacked. The fleet of gunboats under Commodore Foote and Grant's 



800 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

troops from Cairo were sent against Fort Henry, which was captured on 
tlie 6th of February after a severe bombardment by the gunboats which 
had ascended the Tennessee. The garrison escaped to Fort Donelson, 
twelve miles distant across the country. 

The loss of Fort Henry compelled the Confederates to evacuate all their 
positions in Kentucky. General Beauregard fell back from Columbus to 
Corinth, Mississippi, and General Sidney Johnston slowly retired from 
Bowling Green upon Nashville, followed by General Buell with a vastly 
suj)erior force. 

After the capture of Fort Henry the gunboats returned to Cairo, and, 
taking on board supplies and reinforcements for the army, ascended the 
Ohio and entered the Cumberland, up which they passed to Fort Donel- 
son. Grant in the meantime marched across the country from Fort Henry 
to Fort Donelson, and invested the latter work. The roads were so 
difficult that although the distance between the two forts was but twelve 
miles. Grant spent six days in marching it. This 
delay gave General Johnston an opportunity to 
reinforce Fort Donelson. He halted at Nash- 
ville with his main army to await the result of 
Grant's attack on the fort. The gunboats did 
not join Grant until the 14th of February, and 
the investment was not begun until their arrival. 
Fort Donelson was a stronger work than Fort 
Henry, and was held by a force of about thirteen 
ADMIRAL FooTE. thousaud mcu, commanded by General John B. 
Floyd. On the 14th of February the gunboats 
opened fire upon the fort, and at the same time the army of General Grant, 
reinforced to about thirty thousand men, began to occupy the positions 
assigned it in the investment. The operations of the 14th ended with the 
repulse of the fleet. Commodore Foote being severely wounded in the 
engagement. Satisfied of his inability to hold the fort against the over- 
whelming force of the Federal army, General Floy<l resolved to cut his 
way through, and retreat upon Nashville. On the 15th he made a gallant 
attempt to break through Grant's lines, but was driven back, and a por- 
tion of the southern intrenchments remained in the hands of the Union 
army. On the night of the 15th a council of war was held by the Con- 
federate commanders. It was evident that escape was impossible and a 
surrender inevitable. General Floyd refused to surrender, and retreated 
from the fort with a considerable force of infantry and cavalry, with which 
he succeeded in reaching Nashville. General Pillow, who was left by 
Floyd in command, turned over the command to General Buckner, the 




THE CIVIL WAR. 



801 



next in rank, and joined Floyd in his flight. Being unable to offer 
further resistance, General Buckner, on the morning of the 16th, surren- 
dered the fort and his troops unconditionally to the Federal army. 

The capture of Fort Donelson was by far the most important success 
that had yet been won by the Union armies, and was hailed with rejoic- 
ings throughout the north and west. By this capture over five thousand 
prisoners, besides the Confederate wounded, fell into the hands of the 
Union forces. The Confederates also lost heavily in killed and wounded. 

General Johnston, upon learning of the fall of Fort Donelson, fell back 
from Nashville to Murfreesboro', from which place he subsequently con- 
tinued his retreat across the State, and eventually joined General Beaure- 




NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE. 



gard, who had taken position at Corinth, at the junction of two important 
railway lines on the northern border of Mississippi. Beauregard, in 
falling back from Columbus, had left a force at Island No. 10, which had 
been strongly fortified, to hold the Mississippi against the efforts of the 
Federal fleet and army to obtain the control of the river. 

Nashville was occupied by the army of General Buell, and Grant's 
army was moved up the Tennessee as far as Pittsburg Landing. General 
Buell was ordered to march across the country from Nashville to the 
Tennessee, to unite his forces with Grant's, and attack the Confederates 
at Corinth. 

General Johnston, the Confederate commander, had feared this concen- 
51 



802 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




tration, which would make the Federal power in this quarter irresistible, 
and had determined to attack Grant's army and crush it before Bucll 
could arrive, after which he would be free to engage Buell. His plan 
was ably conceived, but his march was delayed by the fearful state of the 
roads, and he did not arrive opposite the Federal position until two days 
after the time fixed for his attack. Grant was encamped at Shiloh Church, 
near Pittsburg Landing, with the Tennessee 
river in his rear. On the morning of Sunday, 
April Gth, his army was suddenly attacked by 
Johnston, and was driven steadily from its origi- 
nal position to the banks of the Tennessee, where 
it was sheltered by tlie fire of the gunboats. The 
battle was stubbornly contested, and the losses on 
both sides \vere very heavy. Late in the after- 
noon General Johnston was mortally wounded, 
and died soon afterwards. The command passed 
OEN. ALBERT s. JOHNSTON, to General Beauregard, who failed to follow up 
his advantage. During the night the army of 
General Buell arrived, and reinforced Grant. On the morning of tlie 7th, 
Grant attacked the Confederates and after a sharp fight drove them back. 
They retreated slowly, and returned to Corinth. 

While these operations were in progress, the gunboats under Commodore 
Foote and a strong force of western troops under General Pope laid siege 
to Island No. 10, on the Mississippi. After a 
bombardment of twenty-three days, the Confed- 
erate works were captured, together with five 
thousand prisoners, on the morning of the 7th of 
April, the day on which Beauregard was driven 
back from Shiloh. The Confederates still held 
Fort Pillow, a strong work a short distance above 
Memphis. If this could be captured, the Federal 
forces would obtain the control of the river as far 
south as Vicksburg. General Pope was anxious 
to move against it at once, but his army was ordered 
to join General Halleck. Commodore Foote being 

disabled by his wound received at Fort Donelson was succeeded by 
Captain Davis, who descended the river and took position above Fort 
Pillow. 

General Halleck now repaired to the Tennessee, and took command of 
the Union armies there, amounting to more than one hundred thousand 
men. He moved forward leisurely towards Corinth, and laid siege to 




MAJ.-GEN. D. C. BUELI.. 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



803 



that place. Beauregard, seeing that it was impossible to hold Corinth 
against this greatly superior force, evacuated it on the night of the 29th 
of May, and retreated to Tupelo, Mississippi. The next day General 
Halleck occupied Corinth. The loss of Corinth compelled the evacuation 
of Fort Pillow, M'hich was abandoned by the Confederates on the 4th of 
June. On the 6th the Union gunboats descended the river to Memphis 
and defeated the Confederate flotilla above that city. Memphis at once 
surrendered, and was occupied by the Union forces. All "West Kentucky 
and West Tennessee were now under the control of the Union armies, 
which now occupied a line extending from Memphis, through Corinth, 
almost to Chattanooga. 

The Confederates still held East Tennessee in heavy force. Shortly 




MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE. 

after the evacuation of Corinth General Beauregard was removed from 
his command, and was succeeded by General Braxton Bragg. Bragg was 
strongly reinforced, and it was determined to make a bold effort to drive 
back the Federal advance and regain West Tennessee and, if possible, 
Kentucky. Bragg's army was concentrated at Chattanooga, and General 
Kirby Smith at Knoxville was strongly reinforced. Smith was to move 
from Knoxville, while Bragg was to advance from Chattanooga, and the 
two armies were to unite in the centre of the State of Kentucky. Their 
combined forces amounted to over fifty thousand men, and it was hoped 
that this movement would compel the Federal army to abandon its advance, 



804 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




and fall back into Kentucky to protect that State and Ohio from the 
Confederates. Then by a decisive victory Bragg expected to be able to 
overrun and hold Kentucky and even to invade Ohio. 

The division of General Smith moved forward about the middle of 
August, and on the 30th of August defeated a Union force under General 
Manson at Richmond, Kentucky, inflicting upon it a loss of six thousand 
men. Smith then occupied Lexington and Frank- 
foi't, and advanced towards Cincinnati ; but ascer- 
taining that a strong force was assembling at that 
city, under General Lewis Wallace, he fell back 
to Frankfort, where he joined General Bragg on 
the 4th of October. 

Bragg had begun his march as soon as Kirby 
Smith had gotten fairly started. His objective 
point was Louisville, and he hoped to be able to 
elude the army of General Buell which was at 
MAj.-GEN. H. w. HALLECK. Nashvillc, aud by a rapid advance seize Louisville 
before Buell's arrival. By the 17th of September 
lie was at Munfordsville, Kentucky, which he captured after several slight 
encounters, taking forty-five hundred prisoners. Buell in the meantime 
had divined Bragg's purpose, and had set out from Nashville for the Ohio 
by forced marches. He reached Louisville before the arrival of the 
Confederates, and being heavily reinforced advanced to attack Bragg, who 
had turned aside and occupied Frankfort on the 
4th of October. Bragg fell back slowly, ravaging 
the country along his route ; and was followed 
by Buell with equal deliberation. On the 8th of 
October an indecisive battle was fouy-ht between 
the two armies at Perry villc. After this conflict, 
in which both sides lost heavily, Buell refrained 
from attacking Bragg again, and the latter con- 
tinued his retreat leisurelv into Tennessee, taking 
with him a wagon train forty miles in length, 
loaded with plunder captured in Kentucky. 

During this campaign the Federal army under 
General Grant had held its line in West Tennessee, extending from 
Corinth to Memphis. A Confederate army under Generals Price and 
Van Dorn was assembled in Mississippi in front of the Union position. 
Grant, who was now in command of the Federal forces in West Tennessee 
(Hallcck having been summoned to Washington as commanding General), 
ordered General Rosecrans to his assistance. Upon the arrival of this 




GENERAL B. BRAGG. 



806 



HISTORY OF TUE TfmTED STATES. 



commander with his troops, Grant advanced upon Price at luka, and 
defeated hini on the 19th of September. He then repaired to Jackson, 
Tennessee, leaving Eosecraus with nineteen thousand men to hoki Corinth 
aecainst the Confederates. 

After his defeat at luka Price was joined by Van Dorn, whose troops 
brought the strength of the Confederate army to eighteen thousand men. 
Thcv at once advanced upon Corinth, and on the 4th of October attacked 
that place. The battle which ensued was noted for the obstinacy with 
which it was contested by both sides. The Confederates were defeated 




LANDING AT LOUISVILLBj KENTUCKY. 

witli a loss of about three thousand killed and wounded, and were pursued 
for about thirty miles southward. The Union loss was about five hundred 
and eighteen killed, wounded, and miasing. 

The Federal government was greatly dissatisfied with Buell's failure 
to intercept Bragg, and upon his arrival at Nashville he was removed, 
from the command of his army, which was conferred u|)()n General Eosc- 
crans, as a reward for his victory at Corinth. Bragg had taken position 
near Murfreesboro', about thirty miles distant from Nashville, and Bose- 
crans, towards tiie last of December, moved upon that place to attack 



THE CIVIL WAB. 807 

him. Bragg had at the same time completed his preparations to resume 
the offensive, and had begun his advance upon Nashville, and the two 
armies encountered each other at Stone river, near Murfreesboro', on the 
31st of December. They were about equal in strength, each numbering 
about forty thousand men. The battle was fiercely disputed, but at night- 
fall Rosecrans was driven back with heavy loss, and Bragg telegraphed 
to Richmond news of a great victory. Rosecrans, however, had merely 
fallen back to a new and stronger position. On the 2d of January, 1863, 
Bragg renewed his attack, but was repulsed with terrible slaughter. On 
the 3d a heavy rain fell and prevented all military operations, and that 
night Bragg retreated from the field. He retired in good order to Tulla- 
homa, about thirty miles from IMurfreesboro'. The losses on both sides 
in this battle were heavy, ranging from ten thousand to twelve thousand 
men in each army. 

The Confederates, having lost the upper 
and lower Mississippi, had fortified Vicks- 
burg and Port Hudson, in order to main- 
tain their hold upon that stream, and to 
keep open their communications with the 
country west of the JNIississippi. Vicks- 
burg had been made a post of extraordinary 
strength, and was garrisoned by a consider- 
able force of Confederate troops. Towards 
the last of the year General Grant deter- 
mined to undertake an expedition against it. major-genekal w. rosecrans. 
He sent General Sherman, with forty thou- 
sand men, and a fleet of gunboats, under Commodore Porter, to 
descend the Mississippi and attack the southern works above the 
city; and advanced southward from Corinth with the main army by 
land. Grant had accomplished fully half the distance when a strong 
body of Confederate cavalry, under General Van Dorn, made a dash into 
his rear, and on the 20th of December captured Holly Springs, Grant's 
principal depot of supplies. This movement compelled Grant to abandon 
his advance upon Vicksburg, and to fall back and re-establish his com- 
munications -with his base. Sherman, ignorant of this disaster, left 
Memphis on the 20th of December, and a few days later landed his 
troops on the banks of the Yazoo, from which he advanced upon the 
Confederate works at Chickasaw bayou, on the north of Vicksburg. On 
the 29th of December he made a spirited attack upon them, but was 
repulsed. He withdrew his troops to the boats, and retired to Young's 
Point, on the Louisiana shore, a short distance above Vicksburg. 




808 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The Confederates were driven out of Missouri at the close of 1861, as 
we have seen, and retired into Arkansas. General Van Dorn was now 
sent by the Confederate government to take command of the forces of 
Price and McCulloch, which numbered about sixteen thousand men. He 
reached the head-quarters of this force on the 3d of March, 1862. The 
Federal army, under General Curtis, with General Sigel as his second in 
command, had taken position on the heights of Pea Ridge, around Sugar 
creek, in the northwestern part of Arkansas. It numbered about eleven 
thousand men. On the 7th of March Van Dorn attacked the Union 
army in this position, and after a bloody fight, M'hich lasted for about 
seven or eight hours, drove it back. Curtis took up a new position dur- 




LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. 



ing the night, and the next morning the Confederates renewed the attack, 
and were repulsed. After the battle of Shih)h the troops of Price and 
Van Dorn were Avithdrawn across the Mississippi to reinforce General 
Beauregard at Corinth. AVe have seen them bearing the brunt of the 
campaign in northern Mississippi against Grant's army. Towards the 
close of the summer, it being necessary to make a vigorous effort to hold 
tlic trans-Mississippi region against the efforts of the Union forces, the 
Confederate government sent Lieutenant-General Holmes to take com- 
mand of it. The operations in this region during the remainder of the 
year were of an unimportant character. 

The plan of the Federal government for seizing the prominent points 
on the coast was carried forward with great energy during the year 1862. 



THE CIVIL WAE. 809 

Between Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, on the coast of North Carolina, 
lies Roanoke island, famous as the scene of Sir Walter Raleigh's unfor- 
tunate attempts to colonize America, and commanding the entrance to 
Albemarle sound. The possession of this island by the Federal forces 
would give them the command of the rivers entering into the sounds, 
place the rear defences of Norfolk at their mercy, and afford them a safe 
base from which to attack the towns on the North Carolina coast. The 
Federal government having determined to obtain possession of Roanoke 
island, a powerful expedition against it was fitted out early in the year, 
under the command of Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside. The 
expedition sailed from Hampton Roads on the 11th of January, 1862, 
and after narrowly escaping being scattered by a severe storm passed 
through Hatteras inlet, and anchored in Pamlico sound on the 28th. On 
the 6th of February the fleet took position off Roanoke island, and on 
the 7th opened fire upon the Confederate works. Under the cover of 
this fire a force of over ten thousand troops was landed upon the island. 
On the 8th General Burnside attacked the Confederate intrenchmeiits 
and carried them after a sharp contest. The entire Confederate force, 
numbering about twenty-five hundred men, fell into his hands as 
prisoners of war. On the 10th the Confederate squadron in Albemarle 
sound was attacked and destroyed, or captured. 

Having established himself firmly on Roanoke island, General Burn- 
side prepared to reduce the towns along the coast of North Carolina. 
On the 14th of March Newberne surrendered to him, and on the 25th 
of April Fort Macon, at the entrance of Beaufort harbor, one of the 
strongest works on the coast, capitulated. 

Some important successes were won on the coast of Florida during the 
spring of this year. An expedition from Port Royal captured Fernan- 
dina and Fort Clinch on the 28th of February, and a little later Jack- 
sonville, on the St. John's river, and St. Augustine passed into the hands 
of the Federal troops. Brunswiclc and Darien, important places on the 
coast of Georgia, were captured about the same time. 

The most important naval expedition of the year was that which 
resulted in the capture of New Orleans. The Federal government had 
recognized from the first the importance of regaining possession of the 
Mississippi, and, as we have seen, a large fleet of gunboats had been pre- 
pared on the upper waters of that stream to co-operate with the army in 
its efforts to capture the fortified posts along the river. All these efforts, 
however, were useless, as long as the Confederates retained possession of 
the lower river or of the important city of New Orleans, the commer- 
cial metropolis of the south. It was resolved at an early period of the 



810 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



struggle to wrest New Orleans from the Confederates, and a fleet of forty- 
five vessels of war and mortar-boats was assembled for this purpose, and 
placed under command of Commodore Farragut, an able and experienced 
officer. To the fleet was added a force of fifteen thousand troops, under 
General B. F. Butler. The expedition rendezvoused at Shijj island, 
near the mouth of the Mississippi, in the early part of March. 

About twenty miles above the head of the passes of the Mississippi, 
and about seventy miles below New Orleans, the entrance to the river is 
defended by two strong works — Fort Jackson on the right bank of the 
stream, and Fort St. Philip on the left — both built before the war. The 
Confederates had further strengthened their position by stretching six 
heavy chains, supported on a series of dismasted schooners, across the 
river, from shore to shore, to prevent the passage of ships. Early in 
April the fleet sailed from Ship island, leaving the troops there to await 

the result of its operations, and entering 
the Mississippi took position below the 
forts. On the 18th the bombardment of 
the forts was begun by the ships and the 
mortar-boats, and was continued Avith 
great vigor until the 24th. The results of 
this bombardment were most discourao;- 
ing, and Farragut became convinced that 
the forts could not be reduced by the fire 
of the fleet. He therefore determined to 
pass them with his vessels and so neu- 
tralize them. 

The chain and raft barricade across 
the river had been broken by a severe 
storm, and Farragut sent a party to enlarge the gap made in it, so 
as to admit the passage of the fleet. This task Avas accomplished with 
great gallantry. At three o'clock, on the morning of the 24th of April, 
the fleet got under headway and began to ascend the river, the commo- 
dore in his flag-ship, the " Hartford," leading the way. The fleet con- 
sisted of seventeen vessels, carrying two hundred and ninety-four guns. 
As the, vessels came abreast of the forts the Confederates opened a heavy 
fire upon them, to which they responded with vigor. The forts Avere 
passed in safety at length, and a short distance above them Farragut 
encountered the Confederate fleet, consisting of sixteen vessels, but eight 
of Avhich were armed. Two of these were iron-clads, however. A des- 
perate battle ensued, which resulted in the total destruction of the 
southern fleet. When the sun rose on the morning of the 24th the forts 




ADMIRAL FARKAGUT. 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



811 



had been passed, and the resistance of the Confederate vessels had been 
overcome. 

There was nothing now between the Federal fleet and New Orleans, 
and Farragut, ascending the river slowly and cautiously, anchored in the 
stream, in front of the city, on the morning of the 25th. He at once 
demanded the capitulation of New Orleans, which had been evacuated by 
the Confederate troops on the previous day, and the city was surrendered 




VIEW IN ST. CHARLES STREET, KEW ORLEANS. 



to him by the municipal authorities. On the 28th Forts Jackson and St. 
Philip surrendered to Captain Porter, the commander of the mortar 
fleet. New Orleans being taken word Avas sent to General Butler, at 
Ship island, to hasten forward with his troops to occupy it. He arrived 
on the 1st of May, and at once took possession of the city. Baton 
Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, was occupied by the Federal forces, and 
FpTvagut pushed on up the river, and, passing the Confederate batteries at 



812 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Grand Gulf and Vicksburg, joined the fleet of Commodore Davis at 
Memphis. 

The capture of New Orleans was a terrible blow to the south. It 
deprived the confederacy of the largest and wealthiest city within its 
limits, and wrested from it the whole of the lower Mississippi. 

Another success was gained by the Union arms on the southern coast. 
An expedition from Port Royal, under General Hunter, laid siege to 
Fort Pulaski, near the mouth of the Savannah river. This fort was con- 
structed by the Federal government previous to the war, and constituted 
one of the principal defences of the city of Savannah. On the 11th of 
April, after a bombardment of fifteen days, it surrendered to General 
Hunter. Its capture closed the Savannah river to the entrance of the 
class of vessels known as blockade runners, and deprived the south of 
the use of one of its principal ports. 

The events of this year in Virginia were of the highest importance. 
The army of the Potomac, nearly two hun- 
dred thousand strong, was ready for active 
operations with tlie early spring. General 
McClellan was anxious to avail himself of the 
superior naval strength of the United States 
to transport his army to a point on the Chesa- 
peake bay, from which it could easily interpose 
between the Confederate army, under General 
Johnston, and Richmond. Suspecting such a 
MAJOR-GENERAL B. F. BUTLER, dcsigu ou thc part of McClelhiu Johnston 

abandoned his position at Centreville on the 
8th of March, and fell back to the Rappahannock, and a little later 
moved back still farther to the line of the Rapidan. McClellan advanced 
to Centreville as soon as informed of Johnston's withdrawal, but was too 
late to interfere with the movements of the Confederate army. 

Simultaneous with Johnston's withdrawal from Centreville occurred an 
incident which forms one of the most striking episodes of the war, ajid 
led to results of world-wide importance. Upon the evacuation of the 
Xoi-folk navy yard by the Federal forces, at the outset of the war, the 
splendid steam frigate "Merrimac" M^as scuttled and sunk. This vcssl-! 
was subsequently raised by the Confederates, and rebnilt by them. Her 
upper deck was removed, and she was covered M-ith a slanting roof. Bo/;h 
the roof and her sides were heavily plated with iron, and a long, stout 
bow was fitted to her to enable her to act as a ram. She was then armed 
with ten heavy guns, and named the " Virginia." Thus prepared she 
was the most powerful vessel afloat. 




THE CIVIL WAR. 



813 



As soon as the "Virginia" was ready for service the Confederate 
authorities determined to test her efficiency by attempting to destroy the 
Federal fleet in Hampton Roads. On the 8th of March the "Virginia," 
accompanied by two small vessels, left Norfolk and steamed down the 
Elizabeth river into Hampton Roads. Her appearance took the Federal 
fleet by surprise, and a heavy fire was concentrated upon her from the 
fleet and the batteries on shore at Newport's News, at the mouth of the 
James river. Shot and shell flew harmlessly from her iron sides, and, 
firing slowly as she advanced, she aimed straight for the sloop of war 
" Cumberland " — the most formidable vessel of her class in the navy — 
and sunk her with a blow of her iron prow. The frigate " Congress," 
lying near by, was chased into shoal water and compelled to surrender, 
after which she was set on fire. The ram then endeavored to inflict a 
similar fate upon the frigate " Minnesota," but that vessel escaped into 
water too shallow for the iron-clad to ven- 
ture into. At sunset the "Virginia" drew 
oif, and returned to the Elizabeth river. 
She had destroyed two of the finest vessels 
in the Federal navy, and inflicted upon her 
adversaries a loss of two hundred and fifty 
officers and men. She was herself unin- 
jured, and had but two men killed and 
eight wounded. 

The success of the " Virginia" struck 
terror to the fleet in Hampton Roads, and 
it was by no means certain that the vic- 
torious vessel would not the next day 
either attack Fortress Monroe, or pass by it 

and ascend the Chesapeake, in which case both Washington and Baltimore 
would be at her mercy. During the night, however, a most unlooked-for 
assistance arrived. The " Monitor," an iron-clad vessel of a new plan, 
invented by Captain John Ericsson, entered Hampton Roads on her trial 
trip from New York. Upon learning the state of aifairs her commander, 
Lieutenant Worden, determined to engage the " Virginia " the next day. 
On the morning of the 9th the "Virginia" again steamed out of the Eliza- 
beth river into Hampton Roads. The " Monitor," though her inferior 
in size, and carrying but a single gun, at once moved forward to meet 
her. An engagement of several hours' duration ensued, in which both 
vessels were fought with great gallantry ; and at the end of this time the 
"Virginia" drew off, and returned to Norfolk severely injured. The 
arrival of the " Monitor " was most fortunate. It saved the Federal fleet iu 




MAJ.-GEN. GEO. B. m'cLELI>AN. 



814 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Hampton Roads from total destruction, and prevented the "Virginia" 
from extending her ravages to the ports of the Union. The battle 
between the "Monitor" and the "Virginia" will ever be famous as the 
first engagement between iron-clad vessels. It inaugurated a new era in 
naval warfare. In spite of the result of the battle, however, the presence 
of the "Virginia" at Norfolk deterred the Federal forces from risking an 
attack on that place, and prevented them from making any effort to ascend 
the James river with their fleet. 

In the meantime the army of General McClellan had returned to its 
position near Alexandria, after the retreat of the Confederates to the 
Eapidan. General McClellannow proposed to move the bulkof his army 
to Fortress Monroe, and to advance from that point upon Richmond by 
way of the peninsula between the York and James rivers. About seventy- 
five thousand men were left on the Potomac to cover Washington, and 
the remainder, about one hundred and twenty thousand in number, were 
transported by water to Fortress Monroe. This movement was accom- 
plished by the 2d of April. On the 4th the army of the Potomac began 
its march towards the lines of Yorktown, which were held by about 
eleven thousand five hundred men, under General Magruder. The Con- 
federate commander had passed the first year of the war in fortifying his 
position, and had constructed a series of powerful works which enabled 
him, with his small force, to hold McClellan's whole army in check. On 
the 5th and 6th of April McClellan made repeated attempts to force the 
southern lines, and failing in these decided to lay siege to them. The 
time thus gained by INIagruder enabled General Johnston to move his 
army from the Rapidan to the peninsula. It was in position on the lines 
of Yorktown by the 17th of April, making the force opposed to McClel- 
lan about fifty-eight thousand strong. The Confederates did not expect 
to hold their position on the peninsula, but from the first intended to 
move back nearer to Richmond, and occupy the line of the Chickaliominy. 
When their preparations were completed they fell back from the lines of 
Yorktown, on the night of the 3d of May, just as McClellan was about 
to begin his bombardment of their position. 

The Federal army discovered the retreat on the morning of the 4th of 
May, and moved forward promptly in the hope of intercepting the 
southern army. On the morning of the 5th the advanced forces attacked 
the rear-guard of Johnston's army at Williamsburg. The Confederate 
commander held his ground until his trains had gotten off in safety, and 
then resumed his retreat, and reached the Chickahominy about the 10th 
of May without further molestation from the Union forces. General 
McClellan, following leisurely, took position on the lefl bank of the 
Chickahominy, with the river between the two armies. 



THE CIVIL WAB. 815 

In accordance with General McClellan's urgent request, President 
Lincoln decided to order the force left to cover Washington to join the 
army of the Potomac, before Richmond, by way of Fredericksburg. 
With his force thus augmented the Union commander had no doubt of 
his ability to capture Richmond. Alive to this danger Greneral Johnston 
directed General Jackson, who had been left to hold the valley of Vir- 
ginia, to manoeuvre his army so as to threaten Washington, and compel 
the Federal sfovernraent to retain the force intended for McClellan for the 
defence of Washington. While awaiting the arrival of this force 
McClellan threw his left wing across the Chickahominy, and lodged it in 
a position nearer to Richmond. The Federal lines now extended from 
Bottom's Bridge, on the Chickahominy, to Mechanicsville, north of that 
stream. 

The evacuation of the peninsula compelled the Confederates to abandon 
Norfolk also. They withdrew their troops from that city on the 9th of 
May, and sent them to reinforce General Johnston. On the 10th Norfolk 
and Portsmouth were occupied by the Federal forces under General Wool. 
Before leaving the Confederates had set fire to the navy yard, which was 
destroyed. The iron-clad steamer "Virginia" was taken into the James 
river, and on the 11th was abandoned and blown up. The loss of this 
steamer, which could have held the James against the whole Union fleet, 
left the river open to within eight miles of Richmond. The gunboats, in- 
cluding the "Monitor," were sent up to try to force their way to Richmond, 
but on the 15th of May were driven back by a battery of heavy guns 
located on the heights at Drewry's bluif, eight miles below Richmond. 
Tliey were badly injured by the plunging fire of the Confederates. The 
river was securely obstructed at this point to prevent a passage of the 
batteries by the Federal fleet. 

Having been heavily reinforced. General Johnston determined to attack 
McClellan's exposed left wing, and on the 31st of May fell upon it at 
Seven Pines, and drove it back with heavy loss. General Johnston was 
severely wounded towards the close of the day, and was unable to carry 
out the plan upon which he had begun the battle. The next day there 
was heavy skirmishing until about ten o'clock in the morning, but 
nothing of a more serious nature was attempted by either side. General 
JSIcClellan, warned by the narrow escape of his left wing, now proceeded 
to fortify his position on the south bank of the Chickahominy. 

While these events were in progress on the Chickahominy, General 
Jackson carried out with brilliant success the movements assigned him in 
the valley of Virginia. His task required the exercise of the greatest 
skill and determination. He was to neutralize the forces of Fremont, 



816 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




riEUT.-GEN. T. J. JACKSON. 



Banks and McDowell, and prevent them from rendering any assistance 
to McClellan. Jackson's army fell back from Winchester on the 11th of 
March, and retired as far as Mount Jackson. Then rapidly retracing its 
steps it attacked Banks' forces at Kernstown, near Winchester. Though 
repulsed in this engagement, it succeeded in alarming the Federal govern- 
ment for the safety of Washington. Banks' command was therefore re- 
tained in the valley to watch Jackson, and the 
force under McDowell was not allowed to go to 
McClellau's assistance on the peninsula, leist by 
so doing it should uncover Washington. After 
the battle of Kernstown, Jackson retired up 
the valley, and a season of comparative quietude 
ensued. The Federal government even believed 
that his troops had been sent to Richmond. 
Fremont's army was ordered to move from 
western Virginia into the valley ; Banks was 
directed to march to Manassas and cover 
Washington ; while McDowell, with forty thousand men, was ordered 
to move to Fredericksburg, from which he was to march across the 
country and unite with McClellan's left w^ing, which was thrown out far 
to the north of Richmond to meet him. These orders were in process of 
execution when Jackson, who had been reinforced by a division under 
General Ewell, destroyed the whole Federal plan of campaign. 

Knowing that he could not possibly resist the combined forces of Fre- 
mont and Banks, Jackson determined to beat 
them in detail. Marching rapidly westward, he 
crossed the mountains, fell upon the advance 
guard of Fremont's army at McDowell, on the 
8th of May, defeated it, and drove it back into 
western Virginia. Then retracing his steps with 
remarkable speed, he returned to the valley, and 
on the 23d of May attacked Banks' outlying force 
at Front Royal, and drove it in upon the 
main body at Strasburg. Banks at once 
broke up his camp, and fell back down the 

valley, pursued by Jackson, who dealt him a terrible blow at Win- 
chester on the 25th. By extraordinary exertions Banks succeeded in 
escaping across the Potomac, but left about three thousand prisoners, sev- 
eral pieces of artillery, nine thousand stand of arms, and the greater part 
of his stores in the hands of the Confederates. 

This bold advance greatly alarmed the government at Washington, and 




MAJ.-GEN. N. P. BANKS. 



IHE CIVIL WAR. 817 

the president ordered Fremont to move with speed into the valley, and 
directed General McDowell to suspend his movement to the assistance of 
McClellan, and send a force of twenty thousand men to gain Jackson's 
rear, and prevent his return up the valley. McDowell sent the required 
force under General Shields, and Fremont hurried on to gain the upper 
valley in advance of Jackson. These movements entirely prevented 
McClellan from receiving the assistance of McDowell's corps, and saved 
Richmond from capture. 

Jackson was too good a general to be caught in the trap so skilfully 
laid for him. He retired up the valley with the greatest speed, and having 
interposed his army between Fremont and Shields, turned upon the former, 
and with a part of his force attacked him at Cross Keys on the 8th of 
June, and checked his advance. Then reuniting his forces he fell upon 
Shields at Port Republic on the 9th of June, and drove him back with 
heavy loss after one of the hardest-fought battles 
of the war. Having thus put an end to the 
pursuit of his antagonists, Jackson withdrew to 
a safe position, from which he could hold them 
in check or go to the aid of the army defending 
Richmond. The latter move being decided 
upon, he eluded the Federal forces in the valley, 
and marched rapidly to the Chickahominy. Be- 
fore his absence from the valley was suspected, 
he had joined General Lee. His campaign in 

the valley is justly regarded as one of the most brig.-gen. jas. shields. 
brilliant of the war. With less than twenty 

thousand men he had neutralized a force of sixty thousand Union troops, 
and prevented the execution of McClellan's carefully laid plans for the 
capture of Richmond. 

Upon the fall of General Johnston the command of the Confederate 
array before Richmond was conferred upon General Robert E. Lee, 
whom subsequent events proved to be the ablest of the southern leaders. 
Troops were drawn from every possible point to reinforce General Lee's 
army, and by the middle of June his forces, including Jackson's army, 
amounted to ninety thousand men. The Federal army was one hundred 
and fifteen thousand strong. Both armies were in fine condition. Gen- 
eral McClellan, finding it impossible to obtain the assistance of McDowell's 
corps, and fearing for the safety of his communicatior,^j,^l'j^j.|j ^^^'^ ^e of 
supplies, which was at West Point, at the head of th». j^^ „ . , pre- 
pared to move his army to the south side of the Chic. Jmy, and 
establish a new and more secure base upon the James river. Before he 
52 




818 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



could put this design in operation he was attacked by General Leo, who, 
on 'the 25th of June, fell upon tlie right of the Union line at Mechanics- 
ville, and forced it back upon the centre at Cold Harbor. On the 26th 
the position at Cold Harbor was attacked and carried by the Confederates 
after a desperate struggle. With great difficulty McClellan secured his 
retreat to the south side of the Chickahominy, and destroyed the bridges 
in his rear. 

Having decided to retreat to the James river rather than attempt to 




BICHMOND, VIRGINIA. 

retain his communications with West Point, McClellan destroyed his 
stores, and on the 28th began his retreat from the Chickahominy by way 
of White Oak swamp. As soon as his movement was discovered pursuit 
was made I f" ^%nfederatcs, who attacked his rear guard under General 
Sumner at .^ag^ Station late in the afternoon of the 29th. Sumner held 
his ground "^until the darkness put an end to tlic action, and during the 
night of the 29th withdrew across AVhite Oak swamp, destroying all the 



THE CIVIL WAR. 819 

bridges after him. On the 30th General Lee made a last effort to pre- 
vent McClellan from reaching the James, and towards the close of the 
afternoon the bloody battle of Frazier's Farm was fought. It was con- 
tinued until nine o'clock. Tiie Federal force at Frazier's Farm held its 
ground until the remainder of McClellan's army had safely traversed 
White Oalc swamp. The object of the battle having been accomplished, 
McClellan resumed his retreat to the James river, and took position upon 
Malvern hill, within a short distance of that stream. Here he massed 
his artillery, and the gunboats in the James river moved up to a point 
from which they could throw their shells into the Confederate lines. On 
the afternoon of the 1st of July the Confederates made a gallant attempt 
to carry Malvern hill, but were repulsed with severe loss. The next 
morning the Federal army withdrew to Harrison's Landing on the James 
river. Thus ended the " Seven Days' Battles," during Avhich the Federal- 
army lost about twenty thousand men in killed, wounded and prisoners, 
fifty-two pieces of artillery, thirty-five thousand 
stand of arms, and an enormous quantity of 
stores of all kinds. The Confederats loss was 
nineteen thousand five hundred and thirty-three 
killed, wounded and missing. 

The retreat of McClellan's army threw the 
north into the deepest despondency. On the 2(1 
of July President Lincoln issued a call for three 
hundred thousand fresh troops. The necessities 
of the struggle, however, made this force insuffi- maj.-gex. e. v. sujiner. 
cient, and on the 4th of August the president or- 
dered that a draft of three hundred thousand militia should be made and 
placed in the- service of the United States for a period of nine months 
unless sooner discharged. The States complied with the requisitions upon 
them, and in the brief period of three months the enormous mass of six 
hundred thousand fresh troops was raised, armed, and placed in the 
field. 

For the protection of Washington the Federal government now collected 
the commands of Banks, Fremont and McDowell in one army, and 
placed it under command of Major-General John Pope, whose capture of 
Lsland No. 10 and other points in the west had given him a fair reputa^- 
tion. He assumed his new command with a profusion of boasts, and 
promised to succeed where McClellan had failed. According to General 
Pope the capture of Richmond was the easiest undertaking in the world. 
His army towards the latter part of July advanced to the Rapidan. 

To watch this force General Lee, late hi July, sent General Jackson's 




820 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

corps to the Rapidan. On the 9th of August Jackson attacked the ad- 
vanced corps of Pope's army at Cedar mountain, and defeated it. This 
defeat suspended General Pope's forward movement. General McClellan 
now received orders from Washington to evacuate Harrison's Landing and 
to reinforce General Pope with his army. He at once put this order in 
execution. The withdrawal of his troops was detected by General Lee, 
who rapidly reinforced Jackson, and finally n:oved with his whole army 
to the Rapidan. About the same time Burnside's corps, which had been 
w ithdrawn from the southern coast, and was awaiting orders in Hampton 
Roads, wns directed to move into the Potomac and reinforce Pope. General 
Pope had now under his command a force of over one hundred thousand 
men. The Confederate army, which was concentrated upon the Rapidan 
by the 18th of August, numbered about seventy thousand men. Its 
strength was greatly overestimated by General Pope, who deemed it most 
prudent to retire behind the Rappahannock, which he did on the 18th 
and 19th of August. His new position was well chosen. His right Avas 
at Rappahannock Station, and his left at Kelley's ford, some distance 
lower down the river. 

General Lee now resolved to attack Pope before he could be joined by 
McClcllan's troops. He divided his army into two columns, and sent 
Jackson's corps by a circuitous route, by way of Thoroughfare gap, to 
gain the rear of the Federal army. This daring flank march was accom- 
plished by Jackson, and on the 26th of August he captured Manassas 
Junction, Pope's main depot of supplies, with an enormous quantity of 
stores of all kinds, and several railroad trains loaded with supplies. 
Upon learning of this movement Pope at once fell back from the Rappa- 
hannock, intending to crush the isolated corps of Jackson, and at the 
same time Lee set oif rapidly by way of Thoroughfare gap to join his 
endangered lieutenant. Pope's army had been reinforced by the corps 
of Porter and Heintzelman, and Reynolds' division of McClellan's army, 
and was at least one hundred and twenty thousand strong. He moved 
back rapidly to attack Jackson, and encountered Swell's division near 
Manassas Junction on the 27th. Ewell held his ground, and at night 
rejoined Jackson, Avho moved swiftly from Manassas to a new position 
near the old Bull Run battle-field. This brought him nearer to Lee, and 
secured his retreat in case of a defeat, Ewell's resistance deceived Gen- 
eral Pope, who had posted McDowell's and Porter's corps to hold the 
road from Thoroughfare gap, by which Lee must advance to Jackson's 
assistance. Supposing that Jackson meant to make a stand at Manassas, 
Pope ordered these troops to move from the positions they had taken and 
to advance upon Manassas Junction. Manassas was reached at noon on 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



821 




GENERAL. B. E. LEE. 



the 28tli, and then General Pope saw for the first time how he had been 
deceived by Jackson, and how he had bhmdered in leaving the road 
from Thoroughfare gap open to Lee. He endeavored to repair his 
error by attacking Jackson at once. He did attack that general in 
his new position late in the afternoon of the 28th, but was repulsed 
with severe lo.ss. On the same afternoon 
General Lee with Longstreet's corps forced 
the passage of Thoroughfai'c gap, and bivouacked 
that night in the open country beyond it. On the 
morning of the 29th he pushed forward with 
speed, and by noon his advanced division reached 
Jackson's position. By four o'clock in the after- 
noon the Confederate army was reunited under 
the command of General Lee. About three 
o'clock in the afternoon General Pope made a 
heavy attack upon Leo's position, but was re- 
pulsed. On the 30th, having reunited all the 
corps of his army, General Pope determined 

to risk the fate of the campaign upon a decisive engagement. The 
Confederates held a large part of the old battle-field of Bull Run, and the 
conflict which ensued is usually known as the second battle of Bull Run. 
It resulted in the defeat of General Pope, who was driven back to the 
heights of Centreville with heavy loss. On the 31st Jackson attacked 
the Federal rear-guard at Chantilly. A spirited encounter took place, 
and the Federal troops were slowly forced back, losing General Phil 
Kearney, one of the most accomplished officers 
in the service. General Pope now withdrew his 
army within the lines of Washington. He had 
lost since the opening of the campaign over thirty 
thousand men, including eight generals killed, 
thirty pieces of artillery, over twenty thousand 
stand of arms, and an enormous quantity of stores. 
The Confederate loss was nine thousand one hun- 
dred and twelve, including five generals. 

The defeat of the Union army and the 
presence of the Confederates on the Potomac 
placed the city of Washington in great danger. The government 
acted with vigor and decision in this emergency. The losses of Popes 
army were made up by reinforcements. General Pope was relieved of 
his command, and General McClellan was restored to the command of 
the army of the Potomac. He set to work with energy to reorganize 
the broken masses of Pope's army into an effective force. 




MAJ.-GEN. PHIL KEAKNEY. 



822 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

General Lee now crossed the Potomac and invaded Maryland, hoping 
to be able not only to remove the war from the soil of Virginia, but also 
to obtain large reinforcements from the southern sympathizers in jMary- 
land. In this he was disappointed, as scarcely any one joined him. On 
the 5th of September he crossed the Potomac, and on the 6th occupied 
Frederick City. Harper's Ferry Avas held by a force of eleven thousand 
men under Colonel Miles, and it was necessary to reduce this post in 
order to preserve the communications of the Confederate army Math its 
own country. General Jackson was despatched with his corps to capture 
Harper's Ferry. He promptly carried the heights overlooking the town, 
;uid on the 15th of September the town and garrison surrendered to him 
after a feeble resistance. 

General Lee in the meantime had taken position at South mountain to 
await the issue of Jackson's attack upon Harper's Ferry. McClcllan, 
advancing slowly from Washington, reached Frederick on the 12th of 
September. There he found a copy of General 
Lee's confidential order to his corps commanders, 
Avhich had been lost by some one. This docu- 
ment gave the Confederate plan of operations, 
and enabled McClellan to act with certainty in 
directing his own movements. Hastening for- 
ward he attacked General Lee at South moun- 
tain on the 14th of September, and after a stub- 
born fight Lee fell back behind Antietam creek, 
and on the morning of the 17th was joined there 
MAj.-GEN. JOHN A. Dix. by thc tr(X)ps of Jackson, who had made a forced 
march from Harper's Ferry. 
• The Confederate army numbered about forty thousand men, having 
been terribly rcHliiceil by the straggling of the men on the march through 
Virginia. The Fetleral army numbered over eighty tiiousand men, and 
was eager for a contest. The prolonged resistance of Harper's Ferry, and 
the losvses of his army by straggling, had defeated I^e's plan of campaign. 
He was now comi>elled to retire across the Potomac, and he halted on the 
Antietam only to swure the reunion of Jackson's corps with his army and 
a safe passage of the Potomac. On the morning of the 17th of Se{)tem- 
ber General INIcClellan attacked the Confederate army in force, but it 
held its ground during the day, both annies at nightfliU occupying about 
the same positions they had held in the morning. The Fetleral loss Avas 
twelve thousand four hundred and sixty-nine, including thirteen generals 
wounded, one mortally; that of the Confederates eight thousand seven 
hundred and ninety, including three generals killed, five wounded. 




THE CIVIL WAR. 



823 



The 18th passed quietly away, and that night Lee silently withdrew from 
his position and retreated across the Potomac. He retired up the valley 
to Winchester. The Federal army moved to the vicinity of Harper's 
Ferry, and did not cross the Potomac until the 2d of November. 

Upon entering Virginia General McCleUan moved towards the Rap- 
pahannock with the design of interposing his army between Lee and 
Richmond. General Lee at once left the valley where he had been de- 
tained by the necessity of watching McClellan, and by a rapid march to 
Warrenton placed his army between Richmond and McClellan. The 
Federal army continuing to advance, he fell back to Culpepper Court- 
house, and McClellan moved forward to the vicinity of Warrenton. On 
the 7th of November, when about to resume his advance, McClellan, 
whose conduct of the campaign had not pleased either President Lincoln 
or the people of the north, was removed from the command of the army 
of the Potomac, M^hich was conferred upon 
General Ambrose E. Burnside. 

Burnside at once advanced to the banks of 
the Rappahannock opposite Fredericksburg, 
intending to pass the river at that place and 
move upon Richmond. Upon his arrival at 
Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg, he found 
the Confederate army strongly posted on the 
heights in the rear of the latter place, prepared 
to dispute his advance. He crossed the Rap- 
pahannock on the 11th and 12th of December, 
and on the 13th attacked the Confederate posi- 
tion, which had been strongly intrenched. He 

was repulsed with a loss of elev^en thousand men, and compelled to retreat 
across the Rappahannock. This terrible reverse greatly disheartened the 
army of the Potomac, and destroyed its faith in its commander ; and so 
the year closed gloomily for the Union cause in the east. 

In the fall of 1862 President Lincoln took the bold step of issuing a 
proclamation announcing that if the seceded States did not return to their 
allegiance to the Union he would declare all the negro slaves within 
their limits free from the 1st of January next. This proclamation was 
issued on the 22d of September, immediately after the battle of Antietara. 
The army and navy of the United States were to enforce the terms of this 
proclamation, and from the new year there was to be no more slavery 
within the limits of the Union. The proclamation was avowedly a war 
measure, but it was sustained by Congress by appropriate legislation 
during the ensuing winter. 




MAJ.-GEN. A. E. BURNSIDE. 



824 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



When the year 1862 closed the Federal government, in spite of its re- 
verses in Virginia, had great cause for hope. It had effected lodgments 
of its forces at important points on the southern coast, had captured New 
Orleans, the largest and wealthiest city of the south, and had opened the 
Mississippi as far as Vicksburgf. West Tennessee, Kentucky and northern 
Missouri were overrun and held by the Union forces. A decided gain 
had been made, and there was reason to hope that the next year would 
bring more favorable results. The Confederates were greatly elated, 
however, by their succesess in the east, which they regarded as counter- 
balancing their disasters in the west, and were more than ever resolved 
to continue the war " to the bitter end." 




CHAPTER XLII. 

TEE ADMINISTRATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN THE CIVIL TTAR — 

CONCLUDED. 

The Emancipation Proclamation — Battle of Chancellorsville — Death of Stonewall Jackson 
. — Invasion of the North by Lee's Army — Battle of Gettysburg — Retreat of Lee into 
Virginia — Grant's Army crosses the Mississippi— Ba tie of Champion Hills — Investment 
of Vicksburg — Surrender of Vicksburg and Port Hudson — Battle of Chiokamanga — 
Rosecrans shut up in Chattanooga — Grant in command of the Western Armies — Battles 
of Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge — Defeat of Bragg's Army — The Campaign in 
East Tennessee — Retreat of Longstreet — Capture of Galveston — Attack on Charleston — 
Capture of Fort Wagner— Charleston Bombarded — State of Affairs in the Spring of 18G4 
— The Red River Expedition — Grant made Lieutenant-Gencral — Advance of the Army 
of the Potomac — Battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbor — Sheridan's 
Raid — Death of General J. E. B. Stuart — Battle of New Market — Early sent into the 
Valley of Virginia — Butler's Army at Bermuda Hundreds — Grant crosses the James 
River — The Siege of Petersburg begun — Early's Raid upon Washington — Sheridan 
defeats Early at Winchester and Fisher's Hill — Battle of Cedar Creek — The final Defeat 
of Early's Army — Sherman's Advance to Atlanta — Johnston removed — Defeat of Hood 
before Atlanta — Evacuation of Atlanta — Hood's Invasion of Tennessee — Battle of 
Franklin — Siege of Nashville — Hood defeated at Nashville — His Retreat — Sherman's 
"March to the Sea" — Capture of Savannah — Battle of Mobile Bay — Attack on Fort 
Fisher — Tlie Confederate Cruisers — Sinking of the "Alabama" by the "Kearsarge" — 
Re-election of President Lincoln — Admission of Nevada into the Union — The Hampton 
Roads Peace Conference — Capture of Fort Fisher — Occupation of Wilmington — Sher- 
man advances through South Carolina — Evacuation of Charleston — Battles of Averas- 
boro' and Benton ville — Sherman at Goldsboro' — Critical situation of Lee's Army — 
Attack on Fort Steadman— Sheridan joins Grant — Advance of Grant's Army — Battle of 
Five Forks — Attack on Petersburg — Evacuation of Richmond and Petersburg — Retreatof 
Lee's Army — Richmond occupied — Surrender of General Lee's Army — Rejoicings in 
the North — Assassination of President Lincoln — Death of Booth — Execution of the Con- 
spirators — Johnston Surrenders — Surrender of the other Confederate Forces — Capture of 
Jefferson Davis — Close of the War. 

('^^(j/fN accordance with his proclamation of September 22d, 1862, 
President Lincoln, on the 1st of January, 1863, issued his procla- 
mation of emancipation, in which he declared all the slaves within 



"% 

m 



I 



i^Y^ the limits of the Confederate States free from that day. 

The plan of campaign adopted by the Federal government for 
1863 was very much like that of the previous year. In the east the 
army of the Potomac was to push forward towards Richmond ; and in 

825 



82G HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the west the army of General Grant was to capture Vicksburg, and thus 
open the Mississippi, after which it was to niarcli eastward, unite with the 
forces of General llosccrans and 0(;cupy East Tennessee, thus cutting the 
communication between the Border and the Gulf States. In addition to 
these operations an expedition against Charleston, South Carolina, was to 
be attempted. 

The array of the Potomac was greatly disheartened by its defeat at 
Fredericksburg, and had lost confidence in General Burnside. That 
commander, at his own request, M-as removed from the command, and was 
succeeded by General Joseph Hooker on the 25th of January. Hooker 
at once began the reorganization of his army, and soon brought it to a 
splendid state of efficiency. By the opening of the spring it numbered 
one hundred and twenty thousand men and four hundred pieces of artil- 
lery. General Lee had remained in his position back of Fredericksburg 
all winter, and his army had been weakened by the withdrawal of Gen- 
eral Longstreet's corps, twenty-four thousand 
strong, by the Confederate government, leaving 
him about fifty thousand men. 

General Hooker, upon learning of Lee's weak- 
ened condition, determined to attack him. He 
divided his army into two columns. One of these, 
consi-^ting of the Second, Fifth, Eleventh, and 
Twelfth army corps, under his own command, was 
to cross the Rappahannock above Fredericksburg 
MAj.-GEN. JOS. HOOKER, and turn the Confederate position. The other 
column, consisting of the First, Third, and Sixth 
corps, under General Sedgwick, was to cross the river at Fredericksburg 
and attack the heights. Between these forces it was believed that Lee's 
army would be crushed. On the 27th of April Hooker moved off' with the 
first column, crossed the river on the 28th and 29th at Kelley's ford, and 
on the .30th took position at Chancellorsville, on the left and in the rear 
of liCe's fortified line. On the 29th General Sedgwick crossed his column 
about three miles below Fredericksburg, and during that day and the 
30th made demonstrations as though he intended to assault the southern 
position in the rear of the town. 

General Lee's situation was now critical, and demanded the most extraor- 
dinary exertions of him. Leaving a small force to hold the heights in 
the rear of Fredericksburg, he moved with his main body towards Chan- 
cellorsville, where Hooker had intrenched himself with about eighty 
thousand men. His only hope of safety lay in defeating this force before 
Seda-wick's column could arrive to its assistance. On the 2d of May he 




THE CIVIL WAR. 827 

sent Jackson's corps to turn the Federal right, and with the remainder of 
his force deceived Hooker into the belief that he meant to storm the in- 
trenched position of the Federal army. Jackson performed his flank 
march with success, and on the afternoon of the 2d of May made a fierce 
attack upon the Federal right, and drove it in upon its centre. In this 
attack he received a mortal wound, of which he died on the 10th of May. 
The next day, the 3d, having reunited Jackson's corps with his main 
force, Lee attacked Hooker at Chancellorsville, and drove him back to 
the junction of the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers. He was pre- 
paring to storm this new position when he learned that Sedgwick had 
defeated the force left to hold the heights of Fredericksburg on the 3d of 
May, and was marching against him. His danger was now greater than 
ever. Leaving a part of his army to hold Hooker in check, he marched 
rapidly to meet Sedgwick. He encountered him at Salem heights on 
the 4th of May, and compelled him to recross the Rappahannock at 
Banks' ford. Then moving back towards 
Hooker's position Lee prepared to storm it. 
General Hooker, however, disheartened by Sedg- 
wick's defeat, withdrew his army across the Rap- 
pahannock on the night of the 5th, and returned 
to his old position on the north side of that 
stream, having lost twelve thousand men and 
fourteen pieces of artillery in the battle of Chan- 
cellorsville. The Confederate loss was also 
heavy. Out of an army of about fifty thousand maj.-gen. j. sedgwick. 
men, ten thousand two hundred and eighty-one 

were killed, wounded and captured. The victory was dearly bought by 
the Confederates by the death of Stonewall Jackson, who was worth fully 
fifty thousand men to their cause. At the moment of his success against 
the Federal right, he was shot down by his own men, who mistook his 
escort for a party of Federal cavalry. 

The success of the Confederates in Virginia was more than counter- 
balanced by their reverses in the west and southwest. The southern gov- 
ernment, anxious to change the course of the war by a bold stroke, de- 
cided to follow up the victory at Chancellorsville by an invasion of the 
north by Lee's army. This army was reinforced heavily, and by the last 
of May numbered seventy thousand infantry and artillery, and ten thou- 
sand cavalry. General Hooker's army on the other hand had been re- 
duced by desertions and expirations of enlistments to about eighty thousand 
men, making the two forces about equal. 

On the 3d of June, 1863, Lee began his forward movement, and 




828 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




LIEUT.-GEN. R. S. EWELL. 



marching through the valley of Virginia, captured Winchester, Mhich w iis 
held by General Milroy's command, on the 14tii, taking four thousand 
prisoners, and twenty-nine pieces of cannon. On the 22d of June the 
Potomac was crossed at Williamsport, and the Confederate army moved 
towards Hagerstown, Maryland. General Hooker had followed Lee 
from the Rappahannock, and had manoeuvred his army so as to interj)ose 
it between the Confederates and Washington. 
On the 23d the advanced corps of Lee's army 
under General Ewell occupied Chambcrsburg, 
Pennsylvania, and on the 25th and 26th General 
Hooker crossed the Potomac at Edward's Ferry, 
and marched to Frederick, INIaryland. He M'as 
anxious to withdraw the garrison of Harper's 
Ferry, which had retired from that place to the 
Maryland heights, opposite the town, but the 
war department refused to allow him to do so. 
Hooker thereupon relinquished the command of 
the army, and was succeeded by Major-General George G. Meade, the 
senior corps commander, and a soldier of genuine ability. General Lee 
now moved his army east of tlie mountains, and directed his advance 
towards Gettysburg. In ignorance of his adversary's design, General 
Meade hastened forward to occupy the same point. 

The invasion of Pennsylvania by the Confederate army aroused the 
most intense excitement in the north. 
President Lincoln called out one hundred 
thousand militia to serve for six months, 
unless sooner discharged, and as far north as 
New York preparations were made to re- 
ceive the Confederate army with a stubborn 
resistance should it succeed in penetrating so 
far. ]^]very effort was made to raise troops 
and forward them to General Meade in time 
to be of service to him. 

On the morning of the 1st of July the 
left wing of the army of the Potomac under 
General Reynolds and the advanced corps 

of Lee's army under Generals A. P. Hill and Ewell encountered each 
other at Gettysburg. General Reynolds was forced back and killed. 
General Hancock was at once sent by General INIeade to assume the coni^ 
mand of the left wing, and upon his arrival he at once recognized the 
.importance of the position at Gettysburg, and occupied it. He was 




MAJ.-GEN. GEO. G. MEADE. 



830 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

promptly reinforced by General Meade, and by the afternoon of the 2d 
of July the army of the Potomac was securely j)osted on the heights 
known as Cemetery Ridge. The Confederate army took position on the 
opposite hills known as Seminary Ridge. Between the two armies lay 
the battle-field on which the engagement of the 1st of July was fought. 
Heavy skirmishing prevailed throughout the day on the 2cl, the advantage 
being with the Confederates. On the 3d of July General Lee made a 
general attack upon the Federal position on Cemetery Ridge, whiclt, very 
strong by nature, had been rendered impregnable by intrenchments. His 
attack was made with determination, and was a splendid exhibition of 
American courage, which won for his troops the generous admiration of 
their adversaries ; but it was unsuccessful. The grand charge of the Con- 
federates was made in the afternoon, and was repulsed with terrible 
slaughter. Still Lee's position was so strong, and the morale of his army 
so unimpaired, that General Meade deemed it best to remain satisfied with 
his victory, and not to risk its fruits by an attack 
upon the Confederate lines. The victory was de- 
cisive. It put an end to the Confederate inva- 
sion. On the night of the 4th of July General 
Lee withdrew from Seminary Ridge and retreated 
to the Potomac, which he crossed on the 13th and 
14th without serious opposition from the Federal 
army. On the loth Lee moved back to Win- 
chester. The Federal loss at Gettysburg Avas 
MAj.-GEx. J. F. REYNOLDS, twcnty-threc thousand, and that of the Con- 
federates about the san)e. 
On the 17th and 18th of July General ^leade crossed the Potomac 
below Harper's Ferry, and moving east of the Blue Ridge, endeavored to 
place his army between Lee and Richmond. The Confederate commander 
by ra})id marches reached Culpepper Court-house in advance of him, how- 
ever, and about the 1st of August occupied the line of the Rappahannock. 
The remainder of the year witnessed but one imjwrtant operation by the 
armies in Virginia. In October General Lee made a sudden forward 
movement for the purpose of throwing his army between Meade and 
Washington, but the latter eluded him and reached Ccntreville in safety. 
Lee then withdrew to the Rapidan, and the army of the Potomac took 
position on the north side of that stream. Both armies passed the winter 
there. 

In the west and southwest success crowned the Federal arms. At the 
opening of the year the army of General Grant lay on the Mississippi 
above Vicksburg, assisted by the fleet of gunboats under Admiral Porter. 




832 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The first three months of the year were passed by the Federal army in a 
series of movements along the Yazoo river, the result of which Avas to 
convince General Grant that Vicksburg could not be taken from that 
quarter. He therefore determined upon a new and more daring plan of 
operations. He decided to march his army across the Louisiana sliore 
from Milliken's bend, above Vicksburg, to New Carthage, below lliat 
city, and to run his gunboats and transports by the batteries. Should 
the boats succeed in passing he meant to cross his command to the ISEis- 
sissippi shore, and attack Vicksburg from the rear. By investing tlie 
city from the land side his flanks would rest upon and be covered by the 
Mississippi, and he could re-establish communication between his right 
M'ing and his base of supplies at Milliken's bend. The plan was daring 

in the highest degree, and required the 
greatest skill and resolution in its execution. 
In order to retain their hold upon (he 
Mississippi the Confederates had fortified 
Vicksburg with great care. Port Hudson, 
about two hundred and forty miles lower 
down the river, had also been fortified, but 
not so strongly as Vicksburg. As long as 
the Confederates held these points tliey were 
able to keep a considerable extent of the 
river open to themselves and closed to the 
Union gunboats. Thus they were enabled 
to cross in safety the enormous herds of beef 
cattle which they drew from the rich pastures of Texas for their armies 
east of the Mississippi. A strong force held the works at Port Hudson. 
Vicksburg was occupied by a large garrison, and was under the command 
of Lieutcnant-Gcncral John C. Pemberton, who, with an army of about 
thirty thousand men, independent of the garrison of Vicksburg, held the 
country In the rear of that city. Appreciating the importance of defeat- 
ing the Federal army in this quarter the Confederate government, in the 
spring of 18G3, sent General Joseph E. Johnston to take command of all 
the forces in Mississippi. It failed to supply him Avith a proper force 
of troops, and General Pemberton treated his orders with open defiance. 
Grant having completed his preparations moved his army from Milli- 
ken's bend to a point on the Louisiana shore, opposite Grand Gulf. On 
the night of the 16th of April a division of gunboats and transports ran 
by the Vicksburg batteries, suffering severely from the heavy fire to 
Avhich they were exposed for a distance of eight miles. On the night of 
the 22d a second division passed the batteries with similar loss. Once 




MA JOB-GENERAL J. A. LOGAN. 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



833 



below Vicksburg, however, the boats were safe. They then proceeded to 
Grant's position on the river below. On the 29th of April the gunboats 
attacked the batteries at Grand Gulf, but were repulsed. The troops 
were then marched to a point opposite Bruinsburg, Mississippi, and the 
gunboats and transports were run by the Grand Gulf batteries. On the 
1st of May the Federal army was ferried across to the Mississippi shore, 
and at once began its march into the interior. Near Port Gibson a part 
of Pemberton's army was encountered and defeated on the same day. 
This success compelled the evacuation of Grand Gulf by the Confederates. 
Grant now boldly threw his army between Johnston's forces at Jackson 
and Pemberton's army, intending to hold the former in check, and drive 
the latter within the defences of Vicksburg. On the 14th of May he 




JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI. 

attacked Johnston at Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, and forced him 
to retreat northward towards Canton. Then turning upon Pemberton he 
attacked him at Champion Hills, or Baker's creek, on the 16th, and 
inflicted a severe defeat upon him. Pemberton withdrew towards the 
Big Black river, and the next day met a second defeat there. He now 
retreated, within the defences of Vicksburg, which place was promptly 
invested by Grant's army. On the 19th of May Grant attempted to 
carry the Confederate position by assault, but was repulsed with licavy 
loss. The assault was repeated with a like result on the 22d. There 
remained then nothing but a regular siege. This was pressed with vigor, 
and the city was subjected to a terrible bombardment, which caused great 
suffering to the people. While the siege was carried on Johnston's army 
was held back, and prevented from undertaking any movement for the 
53 



834 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

relief of A'icksburg. At length, reduced to despair by the steady 
approach of the Union trenches, Pemberton surrendered tiie city and his 
army to General Grant on the 4th of July. By this surrender thirty 
thousand prisoners, two hundred and fifty cannon, and sixty thousand 
stand of arms, together with a large quantity of military stores, fell into 
the hands of the Union forces. It was justly esteemed the greatest 
victory of the war. 

A\ hile the siege of Vicksburg was in progress General Banks ascended 
the ]\lississippi from New Orleans and laid siege to Port Hudson. Upon 
hearing of the fall of Vicksburg, the Confederate commander surren- 
dered the post and his army of sixty-two hundred and thirty-three men 
to General Banks, on the 8th of July. 

These victories wrested from the Confederates their last hold upon the 
Mississippi. They created tlie most intense rejoicing in the Isorthern and 
Western States, and a corresponding depression in the s(juth. Being 
simultaneous with the defeat of the southern army at Gettysburg, they 
were regarded as decisive of the war : as indeed they Avere. From this 
time we shall trace the declining fortunes of the southern confederacy 
and the gradual but steady re-establishment of the authority of the Union 
over the Southern States. 

After the battle of Murfreesboro', or Stone river, the army of General 
Rosecrans remained quietly in winter quarters at Nashville and Mur- 
freesboro'. Bragg's army passed the winter at Chattanooga. Towards 
the last of June Rosecrans moved forward from Nashville, and advancing 
slowly threatened .Bragg's communications with Richmond. The Con- 
federate commander had no wish to emulate the example of Pemberton at 
Vicksburg, and at once evacuated Chattanooga, on ihc 8th of September, 
and retired towards Dalton, Georgia. This movement, which was inter- 
preted by Rosecrans as a retreat, was designed to secure the union with 
Bragg's army of Longstreet's corps, which had been detached from Lee's 
army and sent to join Bragg. This junction was effected on the 18th, 
and other reinforcements arrived from Mississippi. Thus strengthened 
Bragg suddenly wheeled upon Rosecrans, and on the 19th of September 
attacked him at Chickamauga. The battle M'as severe, but indecisive, 
and was renewed the next day. Towards noon, on the 20th, Rosecrans 
liaving greatly weakened the other parts of his line to help the left, which 
was hard pressed, Longstreet made a furious dash at the weakened part, 
and in an irresistible attack swept the Federal right and centre from the 
field. Rosecrans endeavored to stop the retreat, but was borne along in 
the dense crowd of fugitives. Only the left wing, under the command 
of General George H. Thomas, remained firm. Had tiiat given way the 



THE CIVIL WAR. 835 

rout would have been complete; but all through the long afternoon 
Thomas held on to his position with a grim resolution which nothing 
could shake. After nightfall he withdrew his corps in good order and 
retired upon Chattanooga. The Union loss at Chickamauga was six- 
teen thousand men and fifty-one guns ; Bragg's about eighteen thousand 
men. 

Bragg advanced at once upon the defeated array of Rosecrans, which 
had taken refuge in Chattanooga, occupied the heights commanding the 
city, and seized the communications of the Federal army with Nashville. 
Thus closely besieged the Union forces suffered considerably from a 
scarcity of provisions. 

General Rosecrans was now removed from the command of the army 
of the Cumberland, and General Grant was appointed to the chief com- 
mand of all the western armies. He at once set to work to extricate the 
army of the Cumberland, to the command of which General Thomas 
had succeeded, from its perilous situation. Hooker was sent with twenty- 
three thousand men from Meade's army to his assistance, and Sherman 
was ordered to march with the force which had taken Vicksburg along 
the line of the railway from Memphis to Chattanooga. The arrival of 
these reinforcements soon changed the aspect of affairs. On the 23d of 
November the army of the Cumberland made a vigorous sortie and drove 
the Confederates from the important position of Orchard Knob. On the 
24th Hooker stormed Lookout mountain, the left of the Confederate line, 
and carried it after a hard fight. The investment was now thoroughly 
broken, and the Confederates were confined to INIission Ridge, which had 
formerly constituted the right of their line. On the 25th this position 
was assaulted by the whole strength of the Federal army, and was carried 
after a stubborn fight. Bragg, beaten at all points, with heavy loss, 
retreated into Georgia, where he was soon after removed from his command 
and succeeded by General Joseph E. Johnston. 

During the progress of this campaign General Burnside had moved 
from Kentucky with a force of about twenty-five thousand men, about 
the time that Rosecrans began his advance from Nashville in June. The 
strong position of Cumberland gap was surrendered to him with scarcely 
an effort for its defence by the Confederates, and he moved into East 
Tennessee. Driving back the Confederate forces, Avhich sought to stop 
his march, he occupied Knoxville. The object of his expedition Avas to 
afford a rallying point for the Union men of East Tennessee. After the 
battle of Chickamauga, and the investment of Chattanooga, President 
Jefferson Davis visited Bragg's army, and being convinced that the cap- 
ture of Rosecrans' force was inevitable, decided to withdraw General 




836 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



♦ 



837 




oNGSTEEET. 



Longstreet's corps from Bragg, and to send it to drive Burnside out of 
East Tennessee. Longstreet's men were in no condition to undertake 
such a campaign, but under their energetic commander succeeded in con- 
fining Burnside's army to the defences of Knoxville. The siege of that 
place was formed, and several assaults were made upon the Union works, 
but were each repulsed with heavy loss. Burnside's men were reduced 
almost to starvation, but held out with unshaken 
resolution. After the defeat of Bragg at Mission 
Ridge Grant ordered Sherman to march with his 
cor[)s to the relief of Knoxville. Upon the 
approach of this force Longstreet, on the 4th of 
December, raised the siege and retreate<i into 
Virginia. 

Beyond the Mississippi the war was carried on 
with varying success throughout the year 1863, 
but to the general advantage of the Federal 
forces. On the 3d of July the Confederates, lieut. 
under General Holmes, attacked Helena, Arkan- 
sas, but were repulsed. By the close of the year the Confederate forces 
had been pressed back as far as the Red river. 

On the 1st of January, 1863, Galveston, Texas, which had surrendered 
to the Federal forces in the fall of 1862, was recaptured by the Confeder- 
ates, under General Magruder. By the capture of this place the Con- 
federates obtained one more port from which 
they could maintain communications with and 
receive supplies from Europe. 

In the spring of 1863 a powerful naval 
expedition, under Admiral Dupont, was des- 
patched against Charleston. On the 7th of 
April Dupont attempted to force his way into 
the harbor, but was driven back by the forts 
and batteries, and nine of his iron-clads vvere 
severely injured. Early in July a force of land 
troops, under General Gilmorc, effected a lodg- 
ment on the south end of jNIorris' island, and 
.secured their position by intrenchments. The Union parallels were 
jjiLshcd forward steadily towards Fort \yagner at the north end of the 
island, and a final assault of that work was ordered. Before the order 
could be executed Fort "Wagner was evacuated on the night of the 6tli 
of September. The Federal batteries on Morris' island now maintained 
a heavy aud constant fire upon Fort Sumter, and reduced it to a shapeless 




ADMIKAI^ DUPONT. 



838 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



mass of rubbish on the land side. Yet in this condition it -was stronger 
than at first, the mass of rubbish offering a more effectual resistance to 
shot and shell than the walls. The long-range guns on Morris' island 
threw shells into the city of Charleston, which was regularly bombarded 
from this time until its fall, in 1865. The capture of Fort Wagner 
enabled the Federal forces to close the harbor of Charleston effectually 
against blockade runners. 

In spite of the victories of Chancellorsville and Chickamauga, and 
the invasion of the north, the close of the year found the south fairly on 
the downward road to final failure. Missouri was freed from the 
presence of the Confe<lerate army, and the greater part of Arkansas was 
held by the Federal troops. The Mississippi was lost to the south, and 




GAIA'ESTON, TEXAS. 



the immense supplies from the trans-Mississippi region were no longer 
available to the Confederate forces east of tlie great river. Tennea^ee 
was occupied by the Federal forces, and the invasion of the north had 
ended in disaster. Tiie resources of the south were gradnally becoming 
exhausted, and the sui>ply of men Avas {;dling off. The north on the 
other hand was increasing in determination. The war had oj>ened new 
channels of industry, and these had more than repaid the losses of tlie 
fii^st period of the struggle. The north was growing richer, in spite of 
the war, while the south was growing poorer because of it. At the end of 
1863 the Federal debt had reached the enormous total of -$1,300,000,000, 
with the certainty of a heavy increase during the coming year. Still the 
people of the loyal States responded with heartiness to the heavy 
demands of the Federal government for men and money. Specie had 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



839 




BRIG.-GEN. Q. A. GILMORE. 



long since disappeared from circulation, but a system of treasury notes, 
which were made a legal tender, had replaced coin as a circulating 
medium. The new paper money was abundant, and the north gave few 
outward signs of distress. Everything spoke of prosperity. The con- 
trast between the condition of the Union and the confederacy was 
striking and most susfffestive. 

Early in the spring of 1864 an expedition 
was sent into that part of Louisiana known as 
the Red river countiy. It consisted of a force 
of ten thousand troops, under General Smith, 
from Vicksburg, and a fleet of gunboats, under 
Admiral Porter. On the 14t]i of IMarch Fort 
de Russy was captured l)y the troops, and on 
the 21st Natchitoches was occupied. General 
Banks now arrived with a strong reinforcement 
of troops from New Orleans, and took com- 
mand of the expedition. About the 1st of 

April he set out for Shreveport, at the head of navigation on the Red 
river, his army marching along the shore, and the gunboats ascending the 
stream. The Confederates gathered in heavy force, under the command 
of General Kirby Smith, to oppose his advance. On the 8th of April 
the Confederate army attacked Banks at Sabine Cross-Roads, near Mans- 
field, and inflicted a stinging defeat upon him. 
The Union forces were rallied at Pleasant Hill, 
where they were attacked by the Confederates 
on the 9th. The Confederates were repulsed, 
but Banks continued his retreat, and reached 
Alexandria on the 25th of April. The expe- 
dition then returned to i\\e Mississippi. Banks 
was relieved of the command at New Orleans, 
and was succeeded by General Canby, 

General Steele, commanding the Union 
forces in Arkansas, had moved from Little 
Rock, on the 23d of March, towards Shreve- 
port, to co-operate with General Banks. He Avas attacked by tlie Confed- 
erates and driven back to Little Rock, which he reached on the 2d of 
May. 

The Red river expedition was thus a total failure, and was a source of 
great mortification, as well as serious loss, to the Federal government. 

Early in March General Grant was raised to the grade of lieutenant-- 
general, that rank having been revived by act of Congress to reward him 




MAJOR-GENERAL E. CANBY. 



840 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

for his great services during the war. It had been held only by Wash- 
ington, General Scott having been given only the brevet rank. He was 
also appointed commander of all the armies of the United States. He 
decided to assume the immediate direction of the campaign in Virginia, 
and established his head-quarters with the army of the Potomac. At 
the same time General W. T. Sherman was appointed to the command of 
the military division of the Mississippi, in which were included the armies 
of the Cumberland, of the Ohio, and of the Tennessee. The supreme 
control of the military ojierations both east and west was vested in Gen- 
eral Grant — a great gain, inasmuch as the operations in the two quarters 
of the Union could now be made to assist each other. The plan of the 
campaign embraced a simultaneous advance of both armies ; the army of 
the Potomac was charged with the task of defeating Lee and capturing 
Richmond ; the western army, under Sherman, was to force Johnston 
back into Georgia. 

The army of the Potomac numbered one hundred and forty thousand 
men on the 1st of May, 1864; the Confederate army, under General 
Lee, about fifty thousand. General Meade retained the immediate com- 
mand of the army of the Potomac, but General Grant accompanied it, 
and directed its movements. On the morning of May 4th — -just three 
days before Sherman moved from Chattanooga — the Federal army crossed 
the Rapidan, and, turning the right of Lee's position, entered tho region 
known as the Wilderness. General Lee determined to attack this force 
and prevent it from reaching the open country beyond the AViiderness. 
On the 5th of May he encountered the army of the Potomac in the 
Wilderness, near the old battle-field of Chancellorsville. The attack was 
made by the Federal forces, Avhich endeavored to drive off Lee's army, 
which blocked the route by which they M'crc advancing. Lee held his 
ground during the day, and that night both armies bivouacked upon the 
field. The battle was renewed on the 6th, but Grant failed to force the 
Confederate position. The fighting during these two days was carried on 
in a thickly-wooded region, in which the artillery of the two armies could 
not be used to advantage. On the 6th the Confederates suffered a serious 
loss in the person of General Ijongstreet, who was severely wounded. 
The losses in killed and wounded were very heavy on both sides, as the 
fighting was of a desperate character. 

• On the 7th General Grant moved his army around Lee's right, and 
marched rapidly to seize the strong position of Spottsylvania Court- 
house, which would have placed him l)etwecn the Confederates and 
Richmond. Lee at once divined his purpose, and fell back rapidly to 
the heights around Spottsylvania Court-house, which he occupied on the 



THE CIVIL WAR. 841 

8th. Upon arriving before this position Grant found his enemy strongly 
intrenched in it, and at once resolved to drive him from it. On the lOth 
of May he made a determined attack upon the Confederate line, but 
failed to carry it. At daybreak on the 12th a furious assault was made 
by Hancock's corps upon the right centre of Lee's line, which was carried 
in handsome style. Grant at once followed up Hancock's success by 
vigorous attacks upon the other part of the southern line ; but Hancock 
'was unable to advance beyond the works he had captured in his first 
attack, and the other assaults were repulsed by the Confederates. It was 
evident that the Confederates could not be dislodged from their position 
without a still heavier loss to the Union army, and General Grant de- 
termined to draw them from the heights of Spottsylvania by another 
flank march to the right. The losses of the Union army since the opening 
of the campaign had been enormous, but undismayed by them. General 
Grant wrote to the war department, after the battle of the 12th of May : 
" We have now ended the sixth day of very heavy fighting. The result 
to this time is very much in our favor. ... I propose to fight it out on 
this line, if it takes all summer." 

On the 21st of May the army of the Potomac moved from Spottsyl- 
vania to the banks of the North Anna river, and reached that stream on 
the 23d. Lee had marched rapidly by a shorter route, and his army was 
in position on the south side of the river when Grant reached the northern 
shore. Lee had chosen a position of very great strength in front of 
Hanover Junction, and had covered it with earthworks. On the 25th 
Grant crossed a large part of his force to the south side of the North 
Anna, and endeavored to force the Confederate lines, but discovering its 
remarkable strength, withdrew his troops to the north shore, and on the 
26th moved around Lee's right in the direction of the Chickahorainy. 
Lee followed him promptly and took position at Cold Harbor, on the 
north side of the Chickahominy, and within nine miles of Richmond, oc- 
cupying very much the same position held by McClellan's army in the 
battle of Cold Harbor, on the 27th of June, 1862. He covered his 
entire line with strong earthworks. On the 1st of June a sharp encoun- 
ter occurred between the Federal right and the Confederate left wings, 
and on the morning of the 3d of June Grant made a general assault upon 
the Confederate works. The attack Was made with great gallantry, but 
was repulsed with a loss to the Federal army of thirteen thousand men. 
The losses of the army of the Potomac since the passage of the Rapidan 
had reached the enormous total of over sixty thousand men. The Con- 
federate loss during the same period was about twenty thousand. Failing 
to force the Confederate line at Cold Harbor, General Grant drew oif 



THE CIVIL WAR. 843 

leisurely towards the James river at Wilcox's Landing, intending to cross 
that river and attack Richmond from the south side of the James. 

In the meantime, upon reaching Spottsylvania Court-house, General 
Grant had sent General Sheridan, with ten thousand cavalry, to destroy 
the railroads connecting Richmond with Lech's army and the valley of 
Virginia. Sheridan executed his orders with complete success, and went 
within seven miles of Richmond. On the 10th of May he reached Ash- 
land. He was attacked there by the Confederate cavalry under General 
Stuart, and moved off towards Richmond. Stuart, marching by a shorter 
route, threw his cavalry between Sheridan and Richmond, and again en- 
countered him at the Yellow Tavern, on the Brook turnpike, seven miles 
from the city. Stuart was mortally wounded, and Sheridan secured his 
retreat across the Chickahominy and down the peninsula. In General 
Stuart the Confederates lost their only great 
cavalry leader. Had Sheridan, instead of 
halting at Ashland, pushed straight on to 
Richmond, the Confederate capital must 
have fallen into his hands. On the 25th 
of June he rejoined General Grant. 

At the opening of the campaign General 
Butler, with a force of about thirty thousand 
men, Unown as the army of the James, was 
sent up the James river to attack the de- 
fences of Richmond on the south side of that 
river. He occupied City Point and Ber- major-general w. s. hancock. 
muda Hundreds on the 5th of May, and 

a few days later advanced up the neck of land lying between the 
James and the Appomattox rivers. To oppose him the Confederates 
collected a force of about eighteen thousand men under General Beaure- 
gard, and posted them in a fortified line extending from the James to the 
Appomattox, in front of the Richmond and Petersburg railroad. On 
the 16th of May Butler's army, having advanced within a short distance 
of this line, was attacked by the Confederates and driven back to Ber- 
muda Hundreds. The Confederates then formed their lines across the 
narrow peninsula, and kept Butler's force enclosed between their works 
and the two rivers until the crossing of the James river by the army of 
the Potomac. 

The Federal plan of campaign also included the seizure of the valley 
of Virginia, and of the railway connecting Virginia with East Tennessee 
and Georgia. On the 1st of May General Sigel, with an army of ten 
thousand men, advanced up the valley towards Staunton. On the 15th 




844 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




he was defeated with considerable loss by the Confederates under General 
Breckenridge at New Market, and was driven back down the valley. 
General Hunter was appointed in Sigel's place, and succeeded in forcing 
his way to the vicinity of Lynchburg. Lee, becoming alarmed for tlie 
safety of that place, sent General Early, with twelve thousand men, to its 
assistance. Early at once attacked Hunter, and 
forced him to retreat by a circuitous route into 
West Virginia. 

In the meantime General Grant had reached 
the James river, where liis army was reinforced to 
one hundred and fifty thousand men. On the 
15th and 16th of June he crossed his troops near 
City Point, and advanced upon Petersburg. At 
the same time General Butler moved forward 
with the army of the James against the southern 
MAj.-GEN. BRECKENRIDGE. works betwceu thc James and Appomattox. On 
the IGth, 17th, and 18th, Grant, made repeated 
attempts to storm the Confederate works before Petersburg and south 
of the James, but was repulsed with a total loss of nine thousand six 
hundred and sixty-five men. Being unable to carry the southern 
works by storm, he began the siege of Petersburg. His right rested on 
the James above Berniuda Hundreds, and from this point his line ex- 
tended across the Appomattox, with his left thrown out towards the 
Weldon railroad. During tlie summer and fall he continued to extend 
his left until he had seized the Weldon road. 
From this point he sought to extend his left still 
farther and to seize the South Side railroad, Lee's 
only remaining line of communication with the 
south and southwest. Frequent encounters oc- 
curred between the two armies during the summer 
and fall, a number of which attained the pro- 
portions of battles, but we have not space to 
relate them all. On the 30th of July a mine 
was sprung under one of the principal works of 
Lee's line, and the explosion was followed by an major-gexeraj. iiuxter. 
assault by Burnside's corps. The attack was re- 
pulsed with a loss of over five thousand men to the Union troops. During 
the early autumn General Grant extended his lines across the James river, 
and established a force on the north side of that river to lay siege to the 
defences of Richmond. The right of this force was extended as far as 
the Williamsburg road. This was tiie situation of the two armies at the 
close of the year. 




THE CIVIL WAR. i845 

In the meantime Early had advanced into the valley of Virginia 
after the defeat of Hunter. The retreat of that commander into West 
Virginia had left the Potomac unguarded, and Washington City exposed 
to attack. General Lee at once reinforced Early to fifteen thousand men, 
and ordered him to cross the Potomac and threaten Washington, hoping 
by this bold movement to compel Grant to weaken his army for the pro- 
tection of the capital, if not to raise the siege of Petersburg. Early 
moved rapidly, crossed the Potomac near Martinsburg on the 5th of July, 
and on the 7th occupied Frederick City in Maryland. On the 9th he 
defeated a small force under General Lewis Wallace at Monocacy Bridge, 
and advanced upon Washington. The Nineteenth army corps of the Fed- 
eral army was at Fortress Monroe, where it had just arrived from New 
Orleans, en route to join Grant's army. It was at once ordered to Wash- 
ington, w^hich, until its arrival, was held by a small garrison, and Grant 
at the same time embarked the Sixth corps, and 
sent it with all speed around to the Potomac. ^^^^^\ 

These troops reached Washington before the ar- m^p^ \ 

rival of Early, who appeared before the defences /SK ^^^^ 

of that city on the 11th of July. He found the """^ ^^ O/ 
works too strongly manned to be attacked by his ^^^ l^lKpMfHl v'^'^^ 
force. After skirmishing for several days before |; c^^^JM^J^f ^""1 
them, he withdrew across the Potomac on the ^^^^^^^^BHHiS^^ 
14th, and retreated to the neighborhood of "^K ^^^^^ ^^^^y 

Early's movement so alarmed the Federal maj.-gen. lew avallace. 
government for the safety of Washington that a 

force of forty thousand men, ten thousand of which were the splendid 
cavalry of Sheridan, was stationed in the valley, and Major-General 
Sheridan was appointed to the command of this army. Had Grant 
been able to retain these troops with his own army, it is safe to say that 
Lee would have been forced to abandon his position at Petersburg in the 
autumn of 1864. Their absence in the valley enabled the Confederate 
leader to prolong his defence through the winter. 

As soon as he had gotten his forces well in hand, Sheridan advanced 
upon Early, and on the 19th defeated him at Winchester, and drove him 
back to Fisher's Hill, where, on the 22d, he again defeated him and 
drove him out of the valley, pursuing him as far as Staunton. By the 
orders of General Grant, General Sheridan now laid waste the entire val- 
ley of the Shenandoah, destroying all the crops, mills, barns, and farming 
implements, and driving off the cattle with his army as he moved back. 

Early was reinforced after his retreat to the upper valley, and about 



816 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




MAJ.-GEN. PHIIi SHERIDAN. 



the middle of October advanced down the valley towards the Federal 
position with a force of nine thousand men and forty pieces of cannon. 
The Union army lay at Cedar creek, and was under the temporary com- 
mand of General Vv^right during the absence of General Sheridan. On 
the 19th of October Early attacked this force, and drove it back for sev- 
eral miles. Instead of continuing tlu; 
pursuit, his troops stopped to plunder the 
Federal camp, which had fallen into their 
hands. General Wright rallied his men 
and re-formed them in a new position, and 
at this moment General Sheridan arrived on 
the field. He had heard the firing at Win- 
chester, "twenty miles away," and had 
ridden at full speed from that place to rejoin 
his army. He at once ordered it to ad- 
vance upon Early, whose men, laden with 
the plunder of the captured camp, were 
driven back with terrible force and pursued 
up the valley for thirty miles. This success cleared the valley of the 
Confederate forces, for Early M^as not able after this to collect more than 
a handful of men, and Lee had no troops to spare him. Sheridan's 
brilliant victories cost him a total loss of seventeen thousand men. 

The western army under General Sherman 
was increased to one hundred thousand 
men, and w^as concentrated in and around 
Chattanooga about the last of A])ril, Op- 
posed to this force General Joseph E. John- 
ston had collected an army of fifty thousand 
men at Dalton, Georgia. The objective 
point of Sherman was Atlanta, Georgia, the 
key to the railroad system of the south. 

On the 7th of May the Federal army began 
its advance. The position at Dalton being 
too strong to be assaulted, Sherman turned 
it by a flank movement upon Resaca, to 
which place Johnston fell back. On the 14th 

and 15th of May Sherman endeavored to force the Confederate lines near 
Resaca, but without success. He therefore moved around Johnston's letl 
again, and com])elled him to fall back to Dallas. Severe fighting oc- 
curred on the 25th at New Hope Church, but Johnston maintained his 
p sition. Heavy skirmishing ensued until the 28th, when Sherman 




GEN. W. T. PHEKMAN. 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



847 




GEK. JOS. E. JOHNSTON. 



having turned Allatoona pass, Johnston occupied a new position, em- 
bracing Pine, Lost, and Ivenesaw mountains. Between the 15th of 
June and the 2d of July Sherman made several attempts to force this 
position, which was one of the strongest yet occupied by the Confederates, 
and failing to carry it, again moved to the left and turned it. Johnston 
at once fell back across the Chattahoochee and within the lines of Atlanta. 
He had prepared this city for a siege, and had 
strongly fortified it. He had his army w^ell in 
hand, and he was determined as soon as the 
Federal army had passed the Chattahoochee to 
attack Sherman and force him to a decisive en- 
counter. He hoped to defeat him, and had 
purposely avoided a general battle until now. 
Should he succeed in his attempt the defeat of the 
Federal army at such a great distance from its 
base might result in its ruin, and at all events 
would be decisive of the campaign. At this 
juncture, however, he Avas removed from his com- 
mand on the 17th of July by the Confederate 

})resident, who was greatly dissatisfied with the results of the campaign, 
and who, it was generally believed, was influenced by his personal hos- 
tility to Johnston. General John B. Hood, a gallant soldier, but unfit 
for the great task imposed upon him, was appointed to succeed General 
Johnston.- In Johnston General Sherman had recognized an antagonist 
of the first rank, and had conducted the campaign accordingly. H^e re- 
garded the appointment of General Hood as 
greatly simplifying the task before him. The 
Federal army had already paid the heavy price 
of over thirty thousand men for its advance to 
Atlanta, while Johnston had lost less than eight 
thousand men. The conditions were now to be 
reversed. 

On the 17th of July the Union army crossed the 
Chattahoochee, and advanced towards Atlanta. 
On the 20th and 22d Hood attacked the Federal 
lines on Peach Tree creek, but only to be beaten 
back with a loss of over eight thousand men, without inflicting any serious 
injury upon the Union army, which, however, lost General JSIcPherson, 
one of its ablest commanders. Sherman now drew in his lines closer to 
Atlanta, and by a skilful movement thrust his army between the two 
wings of Hood's forces, thus exposing them to the danger of being beaten 




MAJ.-GEN. m'pHERSON. 



848 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




GEX. JOHN n. HOOD. 



in detail. This movement sealed the fate of Atlanta, which was evacu- 
ated by the C<jnfederates on the 31st of August. On the 2d of Septem- 
ber Sherman occupied the city. Hood retreated towards jNIacon. The 
loss of Atlanta was a serious blow to the soutli. It j)laced the Federal 
army in the heart of Georgia, and deslj'oycd the principal source from 
which the ConiUlerate armies were supplied with militarv stores, which 
had been manufactured in great quantities at 
Atlanta. Rome, Georgia, which was captured 
by Sherman's army during the campaign, was 
also largely engaged in the manufacture of arms 
and ammunition. 

General Sherman was now anxious to march 
his army through Georgia, and unite with the 
Union forces on the coast, but he was unable as 
yet to undertake this movement, as Hood with 
■an army of thirty-five thousand men lay in his 
front, and his communications with Chattanooga 
and Knoxville were exposed to the raids of the Confederate ciivalry. He 
now learned that the Confederate government had ordered General Hood 
to invade Tennessee for the purpose of drawing his army out of Georgia, 
and concluded to make no effort to prevent this movement. The task of 
watching Hood was confided to the army of 
the Tennessee, under General George H. 
Thomas, who was given a sufficient force to 
hold Tennessee, and Sherman set about pre- 
paring his army for his march to the sea. 
Thomas was heavily reinforced from the 
north. 

Hood began his forward movement tow- 
ards the last of October, and on the 31st of 
that month crossed the Tennessee near Flor- 
ence. He remained on this river until the 
middle of November, and on the 19th 
marched northward, forcing back the com- 
mand of General Schofield, and effecting a 
passage of Duck river on the 29th. Scho- 
field fell back to Franklin, eighteen miles south of Xashville. He was 
attacked on the 30th by the Confederates and forced back to Nashville, 
within the defences of which city General Thomas had collected an army 
of about forty thousand men. Hood invested the city, and hastened for- 
ward his preparations to assault the Federal works. General Thomas, 




MAJ.-GEX. GEO. H. THOMAS. 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



849 



however, anticipated him, and on the 15th of December attacked the 
Confederate army and forced it back at all points. The next day, the 
16th, the battle Avas renewed, and Hood was completely routed. On the 
17th the Union army set out in pursuit of Hood's broken columns, and 
followed them for over fifty miles. But for the gallantry of a small rear- 
guard, which preserved its discipline and covered the retreat to the last, 
the Confederate army would have been scattered beyond all hope of re- 
union. Hood recrossed the Tennessee with barely twenty thousand men 
out of the thirty-five thousand with which he had begun the campaign. 
He had lost half of his generals, and nearly all of his artillery. He fell 




SAVANNAH,, GEORGIA. 

back \o Tupelo, Mississippi, and on the 23d of January, 1865, was, at his 
own request, relieved of his command. 

In the meantime General Sherman, leaving Thomas to deal with Hood, 
had begun his march through the State of Georgia. Satisfied that the 
war was practically decided in the southwest, he proposed to march to \\\q 
sea near Savannah, and thence through the confederacy to the position 
of General Grant's army. This movement would compel the Confeder- 
ates to mass their forces in his front, and would confine the decisive opera- 
54 



850 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




MAJ.-GEN. 0. O. HOWARD. 



tlons of the war to the eountry between his own and Grant's armies, 
between which it was believed the southern forces could be crushed. 
Everything being in readiness, Sherman cut loose from his communica- 
tions with Chattanooga and set fire to Atlanta. On the 14th of November 
he set out on his " March to the Sea," at the head of a splendid armv of 

sixty thousand men. He ravaged the country 
as he went, leaving behind him a broad belt 
of desolation, sixty miles in width and three 
hundred in length. The Confederates had not 
sufficient force to offer serious opposition to his 
march, and in about four weeks he reached the 
coast near the mouth of the Savannah river. 
On the 13th of December he stormed and cap- 
tured Fort McAllister, which commanded that 
river. The city of Savannah was thus left at 
Sherman's mercy, and was occupied by his 
arnfy on the 22d of December. By this suc- 
cessful march to the sea. General Sherman had 
not only gotten his army in a position to co-operate with Grant in the final 
struggle of the war, but had struck terror to the south. The most hopeful 
Confederate now saw that the triumph of the Union cause was inevitable 
and close at hand. 

During the year important operations had been undertaken by the 
Federal forces on the coast. In July a powerful fleet under Admiral 
Farragut, accompanied by a strong force of troops under General Granger, 
was sent against Mobile, This city was one of 
the principal ports of the confederacy and was 
strongly fortified. The entrance to the bay Avas 
commanded by Forts Morgan and Gaines, two 
powerful works built before the war, and a num- 
ber of batteries, and a Confederate fleet under 
Admiral Buchanan — who had commanded the 
"Virginia" in her fight with the "Monitor"— lay 
beyond the forts ready to contest the possession 
of the bay. On the oth of August Farragut 
passed the forts with his fleet with the loss of but 

one iron-clad, and entered ]Mobile bay. He immediately attacked the 
Confederate fleet, the flag-ship of which was a powerful iron-clad ram — 
the " Tennessee." After one of the most desperate fights in naval annals, 
the entire fleet was destroyed or captured by the Union vessels. Fort 
Powell was evacuated and blown up by its garrison on the same day. On 




ADMIRAL PORTER. 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



851 



the 7th of August Fort Gaines surrendered to General Granger, and on 
the 23d Fort Morgan also capitulated. These succfc..ses made the Federal 
forces masters of Mobile bay, and closed the port to blockade runners ; 
but the city, which was strongly fortified, was not taken until the next 
year. 

Wdmington, on the Cape Fear river, was now the only port in the 
confederacy remaining open to blockade runners. It was defended by 
Fort Fisher, an unusually formidable work near the mouth of the Cape 
Fear. A larger fleet than had yet been employed during the war was 
assembled in Hampton Roads under Admiral Porter. A force of eight 





THE LANDING AT MOBILE, ALABAMA. 

thousand troops under General Butler was embarked, and the expedition 
sailed to the Cape Fear. Fort Fisher was subjected to a vigorous bom- 
bardment, which was begun on the 24th of December, and the troops 
were landed ; but at the last moment General Butler decided that the fort 
was too strong to be assaulted, and the expedition returned to Hampton 
Roads. 

Since the opening of the war the Confederate cruisers had nearly driven 
the commerce of the Northern States from the ocean. These vessels were 
built in England, and were usually manned by crews of English seamen 
under Confederate naval officers. One of these, the " Florida," put to 



852 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

sea in the summer of 1862, and succeeded in reaching Mobile in August 
of that year. In January, 1863, she ran the blockade, and in three 
months captured and destroyed fifteen merchant vessels. She was at 
length seized in the harbor of Bahia, in Brazil, by a Federal man-of-war, 
and taken to Hampton lloads. The Brazilian government, resenting this 
breach of its neutrality, demanded the release of the " Florida," but while 
the negotiations were in progress, she Avas sunk in Hampton Roads by a 
collision with another vessel. 

The most famous of all the Confederate cruisers was the " Alabama." 
She was built at Liverpool, and was suffered to go to sea in spite of the 
protest of the American minister at London. She was commanded by 
Captain Raphael Semmes, and during her long career captured sixty-five 
merchant vessels, and destroyed over ten millions of dollars worth of 
property. During her entire career she never entered a Confederate port. 
In the summer of 1864 she put into the harbor of Cherbourg, in France, 
and Avas blockaded there by the United States 
Avar-steamer ** Kearsarge," Caj)tain AVinslow. 
The French government ordered the " Alabama " 
to leave Cherbourg, and she went to sea on the 
19th of June. She was at once attacked by the 
" Kearsarge," and Avas sunk by the guns of that 
steamer after an engagement of an hour and a 
quarter. Semmes AA'as saA'ed from droAvning by an 
English yacht that had AA'itnessed the battle and 
ADMiR\L vixsLow. Avas sct ashorc. The destruction of the "Alabama" 
AA'as hailed Avith delight throughout the north. 
In the fall of 1864 the presidential election Avas held in the States 
remaining faithful to the Union. The Republican party nominated 
President Lincoln for re-election, and AndrcAV Johnson, of Tennessee, for 
the vice-presidency. The Democratic party supported General George 
B. McClellan for the presidency, and (^eorge H. Pendleton, of Ohio, 
for the AMce-presidency. Mr. Lincoln received at the polls 2,213,665 
votes to 1 ,802,237 cast for McClellan ; and the electoral votes of every 
State save those of Ncav Jersey, DelaAvare, and Kentucky, Avere cast 
for him. 

On the 31st of October, 1864, NcA^ada AA'as admitted into the L^nion as 
a separate State. 

The year 1864 closed brilliantly for the Union cause. Though the 
Confederates had gained a number of important victories during the year, 
they had, on the Avhole, steadily lost ground. Virginia, Tennessee, 
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida Avere overrun by the Federal 




THE CIVIL WAR. 853 

iarmies, and on the coast there was not a single port remaining open to 
the Confederacy save that of" Wilmington, which was blockaded by a 
powerful fleet. It was evident that the coming spring campaign would 
end the war. The Federal forces had been increased to the enormous 
total of one million of men. The Confederates could bring into the field 
scarcely two hundred thousand men, and for these it was difficult to find 
subsistence. The vicious financial system adopted by the Confederate 
government had run its appointed course, and the notes of the Confederate 
treasury were worth scarcely three or four cents in the dollar. 

The year 1865 opened with an effort to secure the return of peace 
without further bloodshed. In January Mr. F. P. Blair, Sr., came from 
Washington to Richmond, and on his own responsibility proposed 
to the Confederate government the appointment of commissioners to 
neo-otiate with the Federal government for the close of the war. The 
following commissioners were a]>pointed by the Confederate government: 
Alexander IT. Stephens, vice-president of the Con- 
federate States ; R. M.T. Hunter, senator from Vir- 
ginia in the Confederate Congress, and John A. 
Campbell, assistant secretary of war. They pro- 
ceeded to City Point under a safe conduct from 
General Grant, and were conveyed from that place 
to Hampton Roads in a government steamer. On 
the 3(1 of February President Lincoln and Secretary 
Seward having reached Hampton Roads, an informal 
conference was held between the president and the 
commissioners. The president refused to entertain brig.-gen. a. terry. 
any propositions which were not based upon the 

unconditional submission of the Southern States to the authority of the 
Union, and as the commissioners had no authority from their government 
to enter into any such arrangement, the conference accomplished nothing. 

In the meantime, however. Admiral Porter, undaunted by the failure 
of Butler to take Fort Fisher, had remained off the fort with his fleet and 
had asked for troops to renew the attempt. The same force that Butler 
had commanded, with fifteen hundred additional men, was placed under 
General Terry's command and ordered to join Porter, This force arrived 
off Fort Fisher on the 12th of January, and on the morning of the 13th 
accomplished its landing with success. A terrible fire was rained upon 
the fort by the fleet during the 13th and 14th, and on the 14th a daring 
reconnoissance of the Union force revealed the fact that the fort had been 
severely damaged by this bombardment. The trenches of the Union 
army were pushed rapidly through the sand to within two hundred yards 




854 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




BKIG.-GEN. SCHOFIELD. 



of Fort Fisher in order to attract the attention of the garrison, and on the 
15th a feint was made by a force of sailors and marines from the fleet in 
this direction. At the same time the troops under General Terry stormed 
the fort from the land side, and after a hard hand-to-hand struggle of 
about five hours, during which each traverse was carried in succession by 
a separate fight, Fort Fisher was captured. On the 16th and 17th the 
Confederates blew up their other works at the 
mouth of the Cape Fear and retreated towards 
Wilmington. The mouth of the river was now 
in the ])OSsession of the Federal forces, and the 
last port of the south was closed. A number of 
blockade runners, ignorant of the capture, ran into 
the river and fell into the hands of the victors. 
Later in the month, General J. M. Schofield was 
placed in command of the department of North 
Carolina, and on the 22d of February occupied the 
city ol" Wilmington with his troops. 

8hen:iian, after the capture of Savannah, allowed 
liis army a month's rest on the coast, and towards the end of January 
moved northward through South Carolina towards Virginia. Plis force 
was sixty thousand strong and moved in four columns covering a front 
of fifty miles. His route was marked by the same desolation he had spread 
through Georgia. The roads were in a horrible condition, and in many 
j)laces the men were forced to wade through the icy waters up to the arm- 
pits. Still he pressed on right into the heart of the 
confederacy. On the 17th of February he reached 
Columbia, South Carolina, having destroyed the 
railroad leading north from Charleston. General 
Hardee, commanding the Confederate forces at 
Charleston, apprehensive of being shut up in that 
city, which was utterly unprepared for a siege, 
evacuated Charleston and its defences on the 17th 
of February and retreated northward to join Crcncral 
Johnston in North Carolina. The next day 
Gharleston was occupied by the Federal ibrces. 

I'^)rt Sumter was also taken jiossession of at the same time. The fort 
was a mass of ruins ; the city was not much better off. It had suffered 
severely from the bombardment to which it had been subjected since 
the fall of Fort Wagner, and the Confederates upon their withdrawal had 
set fire to a considerable part of it. 

From Columbia, Sherman moved towards Fayetteville, North Carolina, 




LIEUT.-GEN. AV. IIAKDEE. 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



855 




driving back the Confederate forces that resisted his progress, and entered 
that place on the 12th of March. From Fayetteville he moved towards 
Goldsboro'. 

The Confederate government, in the emergency to which it was reduced, 
was obliged to reappoint General Joseph E. Johnston to the command of 
the force assembling in Sherman's front. 
Johnston succeeded in collecting about thirty- 
five thousand troops, with which he attacked 
Sherman at Averasboro' on the 16th of March, 
and again at Benton ville on the 19th. The 
Confederates fought with their old enthusi- 
asm in these encounters, but were unable to 
stay the progress of the Federal army, and on 
the 23d of March Sherjnan occupied Golds- 
boro'. Johnston withdrew towards Raleigh. 
At Goldsboro' Sherman was joined by the 
forces of Generals Schofield and Terry which major-general n. g. w right. 
had come up from the coast. 

The armies of Grant and Lee had lain confronting each other during 
the winter. General Lee had little hope of maintaining his position after 
the opening of hostilities. His army was growing weaker from sickness 
and desertion, and no more men could be obtained. The Confederate 
Congress made a feeble effort during the winter to enlist negro troops in 
its service, but with a singular recklessness refused to offer the boon of 

freedom to such of the blacks as would take 
up arms. That body believed that the negroes 
would fight for their own enslavement. 

Early having been driven out^of the valley, 
General Sheridan was ordered to start from 
Winchester with a column of ten thousand 
cavalry, and cut the communications of Lee's 
army by railroad and telegraph north and east 
of Richmond. He left Winchester on the 
27th of February, and defeating Early's small 
force at Waynesboro', broke the Virginia 
Central railroad at that point and moved to 
Charlottesville, which surrendered to liim. He then divided his force 
into two columns and resumed his " ride " on the 6th of March. He 
thoroughly destroyed the railroad between Charlottesville and Lynch- 
burg for about forty miles, and the canal between Richmond and 
Lynchburg shared the same fate for a considerable distance. Being 




MAJOR-GENERAL WARREN. 



856 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

unable to cross the James above Richmond on account of the hi<rh water, 
he moved around tlie north of Kiehmond, crossed the river at Deep 
Bottom, and joined Grant before Petersburg on the 26th of March. He 
had utterly laid waste the country along his route. The arrival of this 
s[)lendid force of ciwalry was of the greatest service to Grant, as we 
shall see. 

The situation of (General Lee's army was growing more critical every 
day. He had less than forty thousand tr(M)ps. He was fully convinced 
of the necessity of abandoning Richmond an<l Petersburg--, and was anxious 
to do so at once, and unite his army with that of General Johnston and 
occ^upy a new position in the interior of the south. In order to secure 
the withdrawal of his army he determined to make a vigorous attack upon 
Grant's right, hoping to compel him, in order to help his right, to draw 
l)ack his left wing, which was in dangerous proximity to the road by which 
Lee wished to retreat. Could he succeed in this effort, he meant to evacu- 
ate his position at Petersburg and retire towards 
Danville, where he ho|)ed to unite with General 
Johnston. On the 25th of March ho made a heavy 
attack upon Fort .Steadn)an on the right of Grant's 
line, and captured it. The Federal forces rallied, 
^^ however, and drove the Confetlerates from the 
captureil works back to their own line, inflicting 
upon them a loss of three thousand men. Lee had 
now no alternative but to await the movements 
LiKUT.-GEN. A. p. niLi^ of Goncral Grant, as lie could not aiford to make 
the sacrifice of men which a renewal of his 
efforts would require of him. 

General Grant lost no time in taking the field. By the last of March 
his army, numbering about one hundred and seventy thousand men, 
including Sheridan's magnificent cavalry division, was in readiness to 
begin the campaign. On the 29tl) of March the advance of the Federal 
array was begun. Leaving the bulk of his army before Petersburg, Grant 
sent a column of twenty-five thousand men to turn the Confeilerate right 
and seize the Southside niilroad, I>ee's only means of communication with 
Johnston's army and the country in his rear. By the morning of the 30th 
the Federal left had gotten fairly to the right of the Confederates. On 
the 30th a heavy storm preventt'd a further advance, and ]x;c took 
advantage of the delay to reinfon^e his right wing Mith all the troops he 
could sj)arc. On the 31st ho attempted to drive back the Federal left, 
but without success. While this battle was going on, Sheridan swung 
around tlie Confederate right and seized the important position of Five 




THE CIVIL WAR. 857 

Forks. Lee then sent Pickett's and Johnston's divisions to recover this 
point, and they drove off the cavalry, and occupied Five Forks at night- 
fail on the 31st. Being joined by the Fifth corps, Sheridan attacked the 
Confederates on the morning of the 1st of April, and defeated them after 
a determined encounter, taking over five thousand prisoners. 

As soon as Sheridan had secured Five Forks, Grant opened a heavy 
artillery fire upon the lines of Petersburg along his whole front, and con- 
tinued the bombardment through the night. On the morning of the 2d 
of April he made a determined attack upon Lee's line, and broke it at 
several points. General Lee was now forced to assume a new and shorter 
line immediately around Petersburg. The Federal army made a vigorous 
effort to force its way into the city, but was unsuccessful. 

The fate of Petersburg was now decided. It was impossible to hold it 
longer. On the night of the 2d of April General Lee withdrew his army 
from Richmond and Petersburg, and retreated in the direction of Amelia 
Court-house. His intention was to move towards 
Danville, and endeavor to join Johnston. His 
retreat was discovered on the morning of the 3d 
of April, and the Federal army, leaving a small 
force to occupy Petersburg, setoff in pursuit, fol- 
lowing the line of the Southside railroad. 

On the morning of the 3d the withdrawal of 
the Confederates from the lines of Richmond was 
discovered by General Weitzel, comnlanding the 
Federal forces on the north side of the James, major-genekal e. o. ord. 
He at once advanced and occupied the city of 

Richmond, a large part of which was in flames as he entered it, having 
been set on fire by the Confederates upon their evacuation of it. Thus 
fell the Confederate capital after four long yearo of bloody war for its 
possession. 

Upon reaching Amelia Court-house, General Lee found that the sup- 
plies he had ordered to be sent there from Danville were not to be had. 
The trains sent from Danville by his instructions had been ordered to 
Richmond to remove the property of the Confederate government, and 
had not been allowed to unload their stores at xlmclia Court-house. This 
was a terrible blow to Lee, who was now unable to furnish food to his 
troops, who had eaten nothing since the commencement of the retreat. 
Parties were sent into the surrounding country to obtain supplies, and 
this consumed the whole of the 4th and 5th of April, which Lee had 
hoped to spend in pushing on beyond his pursuers. The delay enabled 
Sheridan, with eighteen thousand mounted men, to seize the Confederate 




858 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

line of retreat at Jetersville. This movement put an end to Lee's hope 
of reaching Danville and joining Johnston. A battle was impossible, for 
Sheridan had a force nearly equal to his own, and Grant was hurrying on 
with the rest of the Federal army. General Lee therefore turned oif and 
retreated towards Farmville, hoping to be able to reach Lynchburg, but 
Sheridan, after passing Farmville, pushed forward again, and by a forced 
march reached Appomattox Station, on the Southside railroad, on the 
night of the 8th, and planted his force squarely across the Confederate 
line of retreat. The next morning Lee, when near Appomattox Court- 
house, discovered this obstacle in his way, and about the same time 
Sheridan was joined by the army of the James, under General Ord, while 
the army of the Potomac, under General ^Nleadc, was closing in fast upon 
Lee's rear. General Lee had now but eight thousand men with arms in 
their hands. The bulk of his forces, being too much broken down by 
fatigue and hunger to keep their places in the ranks, accompanied the 
regiments in a disorganized mass. As soon as he discovered Sheridan in 
his front, Lee attempted to cut his way through his lines, but failing in 
this effort, and being convinced that further resistance would merely be a 
useless sacrifice of his men, he asked for a suspension of hostilities, and 
went to meet General Grant. 

The two commanders met at a house near Appomattox Court-liouso, 
and after a brief interview arranged the terms of the surrender. General 
Grant treated the beaten army with great liberality. The hungry Con- 
federates were fed by the victors, and after laying down their arms were 
permitted to return to their homes. In order that the men might betake 
themselves as soon as possible to the cultivation of tlie soil, and so avoid 
the .suffering which the failure of the harvest would entail upon the 
south. General Grant released all captured horses which were identified 
as the property of the soldiers surrendering them. The terms of the 
surrender were arranged on the 9th of April. On the 12th the army of 
northern Virginia formed in divisions for the last time, and marching to 
a designated sjwt near Appomattox Court-house, laid down its arms, and 
disbanded. About seventy-five hundred men with arms, and about 
eighteen thousand unarmed stragglers, took part in the surrender. 'J'he 
Federal troops treated their vanquished opponents with true soldierly 
kindness, and carefully refrained from everything which might seem to 
insult the valor that had won their earnest admiration. 

The news of the capture of Richmond and Petersburg and the sur- 
render of Lee's army was received in the north witii the greatest rejoicing. 
Bells were rung, cannon fired, and illuminations flashed from every town 
and village, for it was understood that these great successes were decisive 
of the war. 




SXJURENDEB OF GENERAIi LEE. 



8Et9 



8 go HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

In the midst of these rejoicings occurred a terrible tragedy, which 
plunged the country into mourning. President Lincoln, whose re-elec- 
tion we have related, entered upon his second term on the 4th of March, 
1865, amid the congratulations of the country. On the evening of the 
14th of April he attended a performance at Ford's theatre, in the city 
of Washington. During the midst of the performance the report of a 
pistol rang through the house, and the next moment a man leaped from 
the president's box upon the stage, and waving a pistol over his head, 
shouted *SS'/c semper tyrannis^^ (Thus always Avith tyrants), and disap- 
peared behind the scenes. The cry was raised that the president had 
been killed, and in the commotion which ensued the assassin escaped. 
The murderer had entered the lobby of the theatre, and had fired from 
the door of the private box upon the unsuspicious president, who was 
sitting with his back to him. !Mr. Lincoln fell heavily forward and 
never spoke again. He was conveyed to a house on the opposite side of 
the street, and the highest skill was exerted to save him ; but all in vain. 
He died on the morning of the 15th, surrounded by his family and the 
leading men of the nation. Appropriate funeral services were held on 
the 19th, and the body of the martyred president was conveyed through 
the principal cities of the north and west to Springfield, Illinois, where 
it was buried. Along the entire route it was received with the evidences 
of the nation's grief. Cities were draped in mourning, and dense crowds 
poured out to greet the funeral cortege and testify their love and sorrow 
for the dead man. Even in the south, which had, made the election of 
Abraham Lincoln the occasion of tiic dissolution of the Union, the unaf- 
fected and manly virtues of this simply great man had conquered the 
people, who had come to regard him as their best and truest friend. His 
death was sincerely lamented there, and in the lamentation of the south 
Abraham Lincoln had his proudest triumph. His death was a crushing 
misfortune to the whole country. He was the only man capable of carry- 
ing out a policy of generous conciliation towards the sonth, and he had 
resolved upon such a course. He was sincerely desirous to heal the 
wounds of the Mar as soon as possible, and was strong enough to put 
down all opposition to his policy. His untimely death, as well as the 
manner of it, threw back the settlement of our national troubles fully 
five years. 

As he leaped from the president's box to the stage the assassin's foot 
caught in an American flag with which the box was draped, and he fell 
heavily, breaking his leg. He managed to escape, however. It was im- 
mediately ascertained that the assassin was John Wilkes Booth, a younger 
son of the famous actor Junius Brutus Booth. Almost at the same time 



THE CIVIL WAB. 



861 




MONUMENT TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN FAIRMOUNT PARK, PHILADELPHIA. 



that the president was shot, another assassin, one Payne alias Powell, 
entered the residence of Secretary Seward. Proceeding to the chamber 
where the secretary was confined to a sick-bed, he attacked the two attend- 
ants of the invalid, and his son, Frederick W. Seward, and injured them 
severely, and then attempted to cut Mr. Seward's throat. He succeeded 
in gashing the face of his intended victim, but fled before further harm 
could be done. 

Booth, who was most probably insane, liad drawn quite a number of 
persons into a conspiracy, which had for its object the murder of the 
president and vice-president, Secretaries Seward and Stanton, and Chief 
Justice Chase. The plot failed through unexpected movements of some 
of the intended victims and tlie cowardice of some of the conspirators. 
Booth and a young man named Harold fled into lower Maryland, from 
which they crossed the Potomac into Virginia. They were pursued by 
the government detectives and a squadron of cavalry, and were tracked 
to a barn in Caroline county, Virginia, between Bowling Green and Port 
Royal. Here they were surrounded on the 26th of April. Harold sur- 
rendered himself, but Booth, refusing to yield, Avas shot by Sergeant 
Boston Corbett, and died a few hours later, after suffering intensely. His 



862 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




HON. W. H. SEWAKD. 



accomplices wore arrested, and were brought to trial before a military 
commission at Washington. Payne or Powell, Atzerot, Harold, and 
Mrs. Surratt were condemned to death, and were hanged on the 7th of 
July, 18G5, for complicity in the plot. Dr. Mudd, O'Laughlin and 

Arnold were imprisoned in the 
DryTortugas for life, and Spangler 
for six years. What Booth ex- 
pected to accom})lish by his horri- 
ble deed yet remains a mystery. It 
is now generally believed that he 
was insane ; rendered so perhaps by 
his dissipated habits — and in this 
state of mind had conceived the idea 
that j\Ir. Lincoln was a tyrant, and 
as such ought to be put to death. 
He hud no accomplices in the south, 
and his bloody deed was regarded 
with horror by the southern people. 
Wc must now return to Sher- 
man's army, which we left resting at 
Goldsboro'. Johnston's army was in the vicinity of Raleigh, and after 
the fall of Richmond was joined by Mr. Davis and tlic various officers of 
the Confederate government. On the 10th of April Sherman advanced 
from Goldsboro' towards Johnston's position, and steadily pressed the 
Confederate army back. On the 13th Sherman entered Raleigh. Being 
convinced tiiat further resistance was hopeless, and having learned of the 
surrender of General Lee's army. General John- 
ston now opened negotiations with General Sher- 
man for the surrender of his army to the Federal 
commander. The result of these negotiations was 
an agreement signed by the two commanders on 
the 18th of April. As this agreement provided 
for the restoration of the States of the Confed- 
eracy to their lost places in the Union, it was dis- 
approved by the Federal government, and Sher- 
man was ordered to resume hostilities. General lieut.-gen. e. kirby smith. 
Johnston was at once notified by General Sherman 

of this order, and on the 26th of April entered into an agreement with 
him by which he surrendered to General Sherman all the Confederate 
forces under his command, on terms similar to those granted to General 
Lee by General Grant. 




864 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The example of Generals Lee and Johnston was followed by the other 
Confederate commanders throughout the south. The last to surrender 
was General E. Kirby Smith, in Texas, on the 26th of May. On the 
29th of May President Jolinson issued a proclamation announcing the 
close of the war, and offering amnesty to all who had participated in it 

on the Confederate side, with the exception of 
fourteen specified classes. 

Upon the surrender of Johnston's army, Mr. 
Davis and the members of his former cabinet 
endeavored to make their May to the coast of 
Florida, from which they hoped to be able to 
reach the West Indies. Some of them suc- 
ceeded in doing so, but Mr. Davis was ca[)tured 
at Irwinsville, Georgia, on the 10th of INIay, 
and was sent as a prisoner to Fortress ^Monroe, 
where he was held in confinement until May, 
1867. 
The civil Avar was over. It had cost the country one milliojti of men 
in the killed and crippled for life of the two armies. In money the north 
and the south had expended probably the enormous sum of $5,000,000,- 
000. The exact amount will never be known, as the Confederate debt 
perished with the government which created it. 




JTTDAH p. BENJAMIN. 




CHAPTER XLIII. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 

The New President— Return of the Army to Civil Life— The Public Debt— The Eecon- 
struction Question — Action of the President — He declares the Southern States Read- 
mitted into the Union — The Fifteenth Amendment — Meeting of Congress — The 
President's Acts Annulled — Reconstruction Policy of Congress — The Fourteenth 
Amendment — The Freedraan's Bureau and Civil Eiglits Bills — The Tenure of Office 
Act — Admission of Nebraska into the Union — The Southern States Organized as Mili- 
tary Districts — Admission of Southern States into the Union — The Fourteenth Amend- 
ment Ratified— President Johnson's Quarrel with Secretary Stanton — Impeachment of 
the President — His Acquittal — Release of JefTerson Davis — Indian War — The French 
in Mexico — Fall of the Mexican Empire — Laying of the Atlantic Telegraph — Purchase 
of Alaska — Naturalization Treaty with Germany — Treaty with China — Death of Gen- 
eral Scott — Deatli of ex-President Buchanan — General Grant Elected President — The 
Fifteenth Amendment. 

PON the death of Mr. Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, the vice-presi- 
dent, by the terms of the Constitution, became president of the 
United States. He took the oath of office on the 15th of April, 
and at once entered upon the discharge of his duties. His first 
act was to retain all the members of the cabinet appointed hy 
Mr. Lincoln. 

Mr. Johnson was a native of North Carolina, having been born in 
Raleigh on the 29th of December, 1808. At the age of ten he was bound 
as an apprentice to a tailor of that city. He was at this time unable to 
read or write. Some years later, being determined to acquire an educa- 
tion, he learned the alphabet from a fellow-workman, and a friend taught 
him spelling. He was soon able to read, and pursued his studies steadily, 
working ten or twelve hours a day at his trade, and studying two or three 
more. In 1826 he removed to Greenville, Tennessee, carrying with him 
his mother, who was dependent upon him for support. Upon attaining 
manhood he married, and continued his studies under the direction of his 
wife, supporting his family in the meantime by his trade. He was sub- 
sequently chosen alderman of his town, and with this election entered 
upon his political career. Studying law he abandoned tailoring, and de- 
voted himself to legal pursuits and politics. He was successively chosen 
mayor, member of the legislature, presidential elector, and State senator. 
He was twice elected governor of Tennessee, and three times a senator of 
55 865 




866 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 



the United States from that State. Upon the secession of Tennessee from 
the Union he refused to relinquish his seat in the Senate, and remained 
faithful to the cause of the Union throughout the war, winning consider- 
able reputation during the struggle by his services in behalf of the na- 
tional cause. He was an earnest, honest-hearted man, who sincerely 
desired to do his duty to the country. His mistakes were due to his tem- 
perament, and proceeded from no desire to serve his own interests or those 
of any party. In his public life he was incorruptible. A man of ardent 
nature, strong convictions, and indomitable will, it was not possible that 
he should avoid errors, or fail to stir up a warm and determined opposi- 
tion to his policy. 

The first duty devolving upon the new administration was the disband- 
ing of the army, which at the close of the war numbered over a million 
of men. It was prophesied by foreign nations and feared by many per- 
sons at home that the sudden return of such 
a large body of men to the pursuits of civil 
life would be attended with serious evils, but 
both the Union and the Confederate soldiers 
went back quietly and readily to their old 
avocations. Thus did these citizen-soldiers 
give to the world a splendid exhibition of 
the triumph of law and order in a free 
country, and a proof of the stability of our 
institutions. 

Two questions — both difficult and deli- 
cate — presented themselves for settlement by 
the government. In June, 1865, the war 
debt amounted to $2,700,000,000. The in- 
terest on this sum was §133,000,000, and 
was nearly all payable in gold. The government was called upon to 
raise the latter amount to pay the interest on its bonds, and at the same 
time to take measures to strengthen the confidence of the bondholders in 
the security of their investments. The latter object was accomplished by 
a solemn resolution of the House of Representatives, adopted with but 
one dissenting voice on the 5th of December, 1865, pledging the faith of 
the nation to the payment of the public debt, "principal and interest." 
In order to provide for the immediate wants of the government Congress 
levied additional duties on imported articles, and imposed taxes upon 
manufactured articles, incomes, etc. These burdensome inq)osts were 
cheerfullv submitted to by the people, and a revenue of over $300,000,000 
was raised, providing not only for the payment of the interest on the 




ANDKEW JOHNSON. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 



867 



debt, and of the current expenses of the government, but also leaving a 
large surplus, which was applied to the reduction of the national debt. 
In the year 1866, " before all the extra troops called out by the war had 
been discharged, the debt had been diminished more than thirty-one 
millions of dollars" — a striking proof of the ability as well as the wil- 
lingness of the nation to discharge its financial obligations. During the 
remainder of Mr. Johnson's term this policy was faithfully adhered to 
under the able guidance of Hugh McCuUoch, secretary of the treasury. 

The other question demanding immediate attention was the adjustment 
of the relations of the States of the south to the Union. The president 




CITY HAIiL, PORTI.AND, MAINE. 



held that they had never been out of the Union, but had simply been in 
insurrection, and had been brought back to the acknowledgment of their 
allegiance to the constitution and laws of the United States, which he 
claimed they had no power to renounce. Now that they had submitted 
to the authority they had foi'merly endeavored to reject, he claimed that 
they were entitled to immediate restoration to their old places in the 
Union. In support of his position he quoted the solemn declaration of 
Congress in the summer of 1861, and the assurances of Mr. Lincoln's 



868 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

administration that the war was fought for the restoration of the Union, 
and not for purposes of conquest. In accordance with these declarations, 
provisional governments had been formed in some of the Southern States 
and their representatives had been admitted to Congress during the pro- 
gress of the war. A considerable party in the north supported President 
Johnson in this position ; but the Republican party, now the dominant 
political organization of the United States, opposed his views with great 
determination. The Republicans insisted that the results of the war 
should be secured by stringent laws, and that the Southern States, before 
their admission into the Union, should be compelled to give guarantees for 
the perpetuation of these results. The Republican party, moreover, claimed 
that the work of reconstructing the Union properly belonged to the legis- 
lative branch of the government and not to the president. Had the 
president summoned Congress in extra session and sought the aid of that 
body in the task before him, a conciliatory policy might have been agreed 
upon, and the work of reconstruction have been completed without 
delay. 

President Johnson, however, proceeded alone and without delay to the 
work of restoring the Southern States to their places in the Union. On 
the 29th of May, 18G5, he issued a proclamation appointing a provisional 
governor for the State of North Carolina, and providing for the assem- 
bling of a convention in that State for the purpose of forming a new con- 
stitution, under which the State would be recognized by him as a member 
of the Federal Union. In the meantime North Carolina was kept under 
military rule. A similar course was pursued by the president towards the 
States of Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missis- 
sippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. The people of the ten Southern 
States held conventions in accordance with the president's requirements, 
annulled their ordinances of secession, renewed their obligations to the 
Federal Union, adopted new State constitutions, and ratified the thir- 
teenth amendment to the constitution of the United States prohibiting 
slavery foi'cvcr in all the States of the Union. They also elected senators 
and representatives to Congress, and were recognized by the president as 
formally restored to their places in the Federal Union. 

On the 1st of February, 1865, Congress passed a resolution submitting 
to the legislatures of the various States the following amendment to the 
constitution : 

"Articlk XIII. Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a pun- 
ishment for crime, whereof the party .shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the 
United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

"Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 869 

On the 18th of December, William H. Seward, secretary of state, for- 
mally announced that this, the thirteenth amendment, had been duly 
ratified by the States, and had become a part of the constitution of the 
United States. The ratification of this amendment had been required of 
the Southern States by the president as a condition of their readmission 
into the Union. 

The Thirty-ninth Congress met in December, 1865, and at once took 
measures to neutralize the reconstruction policy of the president. The 
Republican party had a large majority in each house, and was thoroughly 
united in its opposition to the president. The senators and representatives 
of the Southern States were refused admission to seats in Congress, and 
the reconstruction measures of the president were treated as null and voiJ. 
Congress insisted that the Union should not be " restored " as it was be- 
fore the war, but "reconstructed" upon an entirely new basis. The 
measures of the president had made no change in the political status of 
the black population of the south. The negroes were secured in their 
freedom by the thirteenth amendment. Congress now proceeded to 
make the negro a citizen of the United States, and to reconstruct the 
Union upon tliis basis. The following, known as the fourteenth amend- 
ment to the constitution, was adopted by Congress and proposed to the 
States for ratification : 

"Article XIV. Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the. States 
wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the 
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States : nor shall any State deprive any 
person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person 
within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

"Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to 
their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding 
Indians not taxed ; but when the right to vote at any election, for the choice of electors for 
president and vice-president of the United States, representatives in Congress, the executive 
and judicial officers of a State or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any 
of the male inhabitants of such State (being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the 
United States), or in any way abridged except for participation in rebellion or other crime, 
the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number 
of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of 
age, in said State. 

" Section 3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector of pres- 
ident and vice-president, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or 
under any State, who, having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an 
officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or 
judicial officer of any State, to support the constitution of the United States, shall have 
eno-aged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the 
enemies thereof; but Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such 
disability. 



870 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



"Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States authorized hy law, in- 
cluding debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing 
insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned ; but neither the United States nor any 
State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion 
against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; but all 
such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

" Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the 
provisions of this article." 

This amendment was rejected by all the Southern States except Ten- 
nessee, and by several of the Northern States. Tennessee ratified the 
amendment, and was admitted by Congress into the Union. Congress at 




CHESTNUT STREET BRIDGE OVER THE SCHUYLKILL, PHILADELPHIA. 

this session enacted what is known as the " Freedman's Bureau Bill," 
creating a department under the Federal government for the care and pro- 
tection of the newly emancipated negroes and the destitute whites of the 
south. This measure was vetoed by the president as unconstitutional, 
and was passed over his veto. It was immediately put in operation 
throughout the south. While the freedman's bureau did much to assist 
the negro in adapting himself to the duties of his new position, it was 
productive of an immense amount of corruption and fraud. 

Another measure of Congress which was vetoed by the president upon 
constitutional grounds, and was passed over his veto, was the " Civil Rights 
Bill," which secured to the negro the rights of a citizen. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 871 

As the quarrel between the president and Congress deepened, various 
efforts were made by the latter to hamper the executive and impair his 
powers. The Thirty-ninth Congress adopted for this purpose a measure 
known as the "Tenure of Office Act," by the terms of which the presi- 
dent was forbidden to remove any person from a civil office under the 
government without the consent of the Senate. This bill was promptly 
vetoed by the president, but was passed over his veto by Congress. 

On the 1st of March, 1867, a new State was ^dded to the Union by the 
admission of Nebraska on an equality with the original thirteen States — 
four of which were at that time undergoing the process of reconstruction. 

In February, 1867, Congress proceeded to take extreme measures with 
the Southern States that had refused to ratify the fourteenth amend- 
ment. The State governments were abolished, the State officers removed, 
and the Southern States were organized as military districts, and placed 
under absolute martial law. The writ of habeas corpus was suspended, 
and the civil law was made to give place to the will of a military com- 
mander. This was done with the avowed intention of compelling the 
Southern States to ratify the fourteenth araendm.ent and seek admission 
into the Union upon the terms prescribed by Congress. The effect of the 
measures of Congress was to disfranchise the better class of the southern 
people, and to confer the unrestricted right of suffrage upon the negroes. 
The intelligence of the Southern States w^as denied any voice in their gov- 
ernment, which was intrusted to the most ignorant and degraded part of 
their population. The measures of Congress were regarded with bitter 
hostility by the south, and there were very many of the more thoughtful 
Republicans of the north who seriously doubted the wisdom of tliis 
method of reconstruction. The measures of Congress were vetoed by the 
president, but were passed over his veto, March 2d, 1867. 

Upon the organization of the military districts, the commanding gen- 
erals, who, as a rule, exercised their power with moderation and forbear- 
ance, caused a registry of voters to be made, and ordered elections to be 
held for conventions to form State governments. The conventions so 
elected could not in any case be said to represent the white people of the 
south. After a bitter and protracted struggle, some of the conventions 
ratified the fourteenth amendment, and organized State governments. 
On the 24th of June, 1868, Congress passed a bill over the president's 
veto admitting the States of Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louis- 
iana, North Carolina, and South Carolina into the Union. Virginia, 
Mississippi, and Texas, having refused to ratify the amendment, were 
denied admission into the Union. 

The fourteenth amendment having been adopted by the requisite 




:.Ui,,iJ!lii!i^"i" 



872 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 



873 



number of States, was formally declared a part of the constitution on the 
28th of July, 1868. 

In the meantime the quarrel between the president and Congress came 
to a decisive issue. The extreme or radical wing of the Republican 
party, comprising the majority in Congress, was anxious to remove Mr. 
Johnson from his position. Could it succeed in doing so, Benjamin 
Wade, of Ohio, the president of the Senate, would, by virtue of his office, 
become president of the United States. As Mr. Wade was one of the ex- 
treme radical leaders, this would place the whole power of the govern- 




LAKE STREET, CHICAGO. 

ment in the hands of that party. A quarrel between the president and 
Mr. Stanton, the secretary of war, furnished the occasion for this effort. 
On the 12th of August, 1867, Secretary Stanton was removed from the 
war department by President Johnson, who appointed General Grant 
secretary of war ad interim. > Upon the meeting of Congress, in Decem- 
ber, 1867, the president's course Avas denounced as a violation of the 
tenure of office act, and on the 12th of January, 1868, the Senate re- 
fused to sanction the removal of Mr. Stanton. Mr. Stanton thereupon 
demanded of General Grant the surrender of the war department, and the 



874 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

latter at once complied with the demand. On the 21st of February, 
President Johnson again removed Mr. Stanton, and appointed General 
Lorenzo Thomas, adjutant-general of the United States, secretary of war 
ad interim. He held the tenure of office act to be unconstitutional, and 
an invasion of his lawful poM'ers as chief magistrate of the republic. 
This second removal of Mr. Stanton brought matters to a crisis, and on 
the 24th of February, 1868, the House of Representatives, by a strict 
party vote, ordered the president to be impeached of high crimes and mis- 
demeanors.* The Senate, sitting as a higli court of impeachment, met 
on the 5th of March, 18G8, under the presidency of Chief-Justice Chase. 
The impeachment was conducted by managers appointed by the House, 
and the president was defended by able counsel. On the 26th of May, 
the case being closed, the vote Avas taken, with the following result: For 
conviction, 34; for acquittal, 19. There not being the requisite two- 
thirds vote for conviction, the })resident was acquitted. 

Jefferson Davis had been confined in Fortress jMonroe since his capture 
by the Federal forces, in May, 1865. All tlie Confederate officials taken 
by the Union forces had been released within a year after their capture 
on giving their parole to answer any prosecution that might be brought 
against them by the Federal authorities. Mr. Davis was excepted from 
this clemency, and remained in prison for two years. A prosecution for 

* The charges against the president maybe summed up as follows: 1. Unlawfully order- 
ing the removal of Mr. Stanton from the office of secretary of war, in viulation of tlie pro- 
visions of the tenure of office' act. 2. The milawful appointment of General Lorenzo 
Thomas as secretary of war ad interim. 3-. Conspiring with General Thomas and other 
persons to prev^ent Edwin M. Stanton, the lawfully appointed secretary of war, from hold- 
ing that office. 5. Conspiring with General Thomas and other persons to hinder the 
operation of the tenure of office act ; and in pursuance of this conspiracy attempting to 
prevent Mr. Stanton from acting as secretary of war. 6. Conspiring with General Thomas 
and others to take forcible possession of the property in the war department. 7. The 
president was charged with having called before him the commander of the troops in the 
department of Washington, and declaring to him that a law passed on the 30th of June, 
1867, directing that " all orders and instructions relating to military operations, issued by 
the president or secretary of war, shall be issued through the general of the army, and in 
case of his inability through the next in rank," was unconstitutional, and not binding upon 
the commander of the department of Washington, the design being to induce that com- 
mander to violate the law, and obey orders issued directly from the president. 8. That 
in a number of public speeches the president had attempted to set aside the authority of 
Congress, to bring it into disgrace, and to excite the hatred and resentment of the people 
against Congress and the laws enacted by it. 9. That in August, 1866, in a public speech 
in Washington, the president had declared that Congress was not a body authorized by the 
constitution to exercise legislative powers. Then followed a specification of alleged at- 
tempts on the part of the president to prevent the execution of the laws of Congress. The 
impeachment articles were eleven in number. The other two were simply repetitions of 
some of the above charges. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF ANDRFAV JOHNSON. 875 

treason was instituted against him in the district court of Virginia, but 
he was not brought to triah A number of prominent citizens of the north 
who had been so active in their support of the war that their motives 
could not be suspected, exerted themselves to procure his release on bail, 
and became his sureties. He was accordingly released on bail on the 13th 
of May, 1867. During the following year the indictment against him 
was quashed by the government. 

During the latter part of the civil war a vexatious and bloody warfare 
with the Indians broke out on the frontier. It began in 1864, and ex- 
tended through 1865 and 1866, and until the fall of 1868 its ravages were 
spread along the frontier through Southern Colorado into the Indian Ter- 
ritory, causing severe suffering to the settlers of this region. By the 
winter of 1865-'66 the war had assumed such formidable proportions 
that General Sheridan was sent with a considerable force against the 
savages. The vigorous measures of Sheridan, 
and General Custer's victory over the band of 
Black Kettle at Wacheta, brought the war to 
a close in the fall of 1868. 

While the civil war was at its height, 
France, Eugland and Spain became involved 
in a quarrel with Mexico concerning the non- 
payment of certain claims due citizens of those 
countries by the Mexican republic, and a joint 
expedition was despatched to Mexico in the 

fall of 1861. Discovering that France was maj.-gen. geo. w. cttsteb. 
seeking to use the expedition to destroy the in- 
dependence of Mexico, England and Spain settled their claims with the 
republic by the convention of Solidad, on the 4th of March, 1862, and 
withdrew their forces. The French, however, continued the war, and 
after a hard struggle, during which the Mexicans fought gallantly for 
their country, Mexico was conquered, and early in June, 1863, the 
French army entered the capital. The emperor of the French now pro- 
ceeded to overthrow the republic, it being his intention to replace it with 
an empire which should be dependent upon France. An election was 
held, and under the intimidation of the French, resulted in a majority in 
favor of the aTDolition of the republic and the erection of the empire. 
Through the same influence the Mexicans chose Maximilian, archduke 
of Austria, emperor of Mexico, and in an evil hour for himself that 
amiable and high-souled prince accepted the crown. 

The government of the United States had viewed the interference of 
France in Mexican affairs with marked displeasure, but being too much 




876 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

engaged in its efforts to bring the civil war to a successful close to under- 
take any new difficulty, simply entered its protest against the action of 
France. The civil war having been brought to a close, however, it took 
a bolder stand, and demanded of the French emperor the withdrawal of 
his troops from Mexico. The action of the government was sustained by 
the great mass of tlie American people, and it was believed by many that 
a foreign war would be a sure and speedy way of bringing about the 
restoration of the Union. The Emperor Napoleon hesitated for a while, 
but finally acceded to the American demand. The French troops were 
reexilled at the close of the year 18G6, and the Emperor Maximilian was 
left to face the Mexican people alone. They at once rose against him, de- 
feated his forces, and took him prisoner. On the 19th of June, 1867, 
he was shot by order of the JNIexican government, in spite of the efforts 
of the United States to save him. Thus ended the hope of reviving the 
dominion of France on the American continent. 

The efforts of the gentlemen interested in the laying of a telegraphic 
cable across the Atlantic did not end with their failures in 1858. In 
1865 the same company succeeded in laying a cable for about fourteen 
hundred miles from the Irish coast, when it suddenly parted and sank 
into the sea. The expedition then returned to England. Undismayed 
by this failure, Mr. Cyrus AV. Field, of New York, to whose courage 
and determination the final success of the scheme was due, succeeded in 
persuading capitalists to make one more effort, and in July, 1866, a cable 
was laid from Valentia bay, in Ireland, to Heart's Content, in Newfound- 
land, a distance of eighteen hundred and sixty-four miles. It was found 
to work to the entire satisfaction of all parties, and the great enterprise 
was now an accomplished fact. The fleet then sailed from Newfoundland 
to the spot where the cable of 1865 had parted in mid-ocean, and pro- 
ceeded to grapple for it. It M'^as recovered and raised from a depth of 
over two miles, and was then spliced to the coil on board the " Great 
Eastern," the ship employed in the undertaking. The huge steamer then 
put about, and completed the laying of the cable to Heart's Content, thus 
giving the company two working lines. The completion of the work 
was hailed with rejoicings in both America and Europe. 

On the 29th of March, 1867, a treaty was concluded between the United 
States and Russia, by which the latter power sold to the United States for 
the sum of seven million two hundred thousand dollars, all of the region 
in the extreme northwestern part of the American continent known as 
Russian America. The treaty was ratified by the Senate on tlie 9th of 
April. The new territory added to the area of the United States a dis- 
trict of about five hundred and seventy-seven thousand three hundred 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 877 

and ninety square miles. In July, 1868, Congress extended over this 
region the laws of the United States relating to customs, commerce and 
navigation, and established a collection district. * In August, 1868, the 
military district of Alaska was organized, and attached to the department 
of California. With the exception of about ten thousand whites, the in- 
habitants were, at the time of the purchase of Alaska, all Indians. The 
region is chiefly valuable for its furs and fisheries, and for its harbors, 
which afford a safe retreat for the American whalers in the Pacific. 

In 1868 a treaty was negotiated between the United States and the 
North German Confederation, by which the latter power recognized the 
right of German emigrants to the United States to renounce their alle- 
giance to the countries of their birth, and become citizens of the United 
States by naturalization. 

In the same year a treaty was negotiated with China, through an em- 
bassy from that country, which visited the United States under the charge 
of Anson Burlingame, formerly the American minister to China. It was 
the first instance in which that exclusive nation had ever sought to nego- 
tiate a treaty of commerce and friendship with a foreign nation. Liberty 
of conscience to Americans residing in China, protection of their property 
and persons, and important commercial privileges were secured by this 
treaty. 

In 1866 the Fenians, a secret society organized for the purpose of de- 
livering Ireland from British rule, invaded Canada in large numbers 
from Buffalo, Ncav York, and St. Albans, Vermont. President Johnson 
at once issued his proclamation declaring the Fenian movement a violation 
of the neutrality of the United States, and sent General Meade with a 
sufficient force to the border to execute the laws. This decisive action 
put an end to the hopes of the Fenians of embroiling this country in 
hostilities with Great Britain, and after some slight encounters with the 
British troops in Canada they abandoned the expedition. 

During President Johnson's administration, two distinguished public 
servants passed away. On the 29th of May, 1866, Lieutenant-General 
Winfield Scott, the veteran conqueror of Mexico, died at the age of eighty 
years. On the 1st of June, 1868, ex-President James Buchanan died at 
his home at Wheatland, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the seventy- 
eighth year of his age. 

In the fall of 1868 the presidential election was held. The Republican 
party nominated General Ulysses S. Grant, the commanding-general of 
the army, for the presidency, and Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, for the vice- 
presidency. The Democratic party nominated Horatio Seymour, of New 
York, for the presidency, and Frank P. Blair, of Missouri, for the vice- 



878 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



presidency. The election resulted in the choice of General Grant by 
a popular vote of 2,985,031 to 2,648,830 votes cast for Mr. Seymour. 
In the electoral college tyrant received two hundred and seventeen votes 
and Seymour seventy-seven. The States of Virginia, Mississippi and 
Texas were not allowed to take part in this election, being still out of 
the Union. 

In February, 1869, the two houses of Congress adopted the fifteenth 
amendment to the constitution of the United States, and submitted it to 
the various States for ratification by them. It was in the following 
words : " The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not 
be denied or abridged by the United States, or any State, on account of 
race, color, or previous condition of servitude." 




CHAPTER XLIV. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF ULYSSES S. GRANT. 

Early Life of President Grant — Completion of the Pacific Railway — Death of ex-President 
Pierce — The Fifteenth Amendment Ratified — Prosperity of the Country — The Enforce- 
ment Act — The Test-oath Abolished — The Constitutionality of the Legal Tender Act 
Affirmed — Death of Admiral Farragut — Death of General Lee — The Income Tax Re- 
pealed — The Alabama Claims — Treaty of Washington — The Geneva Conference — Award 
in favor of the United States — The San Juan Boundary Question settled — Efforts to 
annex St. Domingo — Burning of Chicago — Forest Fires — The Civil Disabilities re- 
moved from the Southern People — Re-election of General Grant — Death of Horace 
Greeley — Great Fire at Boston — The Modoc War — Murder of General Canby and the 
Peace Commissioners — Execution of the Modoc Chiefs — The Cuban Revolution — Cap- 
ture of the '^"^irginius" — Execution of the Prisoners — Action of the Federal Government 
— The Panic of 1873 — Bill for the Resumption of Specie Payments — Preparations for 
the Centennial Exhibition. 

LYSSES S. GRANT, the eighteenth president of the United States, 
was inaugurated at Washington with imposing ceremonies on the 
4th of March, 1869. He was born at Mount Pleasant, Ohio, on 
the 27th of April, 1822. His father was a tanner, and wished 
him to follow his trade, but the boy had more ambitious hopes, 
and at the age of seventeen a friend secured for him an appointment as 
a cadet at West Point, where he was educated. Upon graduating he 
entered the army. Two years later he was sent to Mexico, and served 
through the war with that country with distinction. He was specially 
noticed by his commanders, and was promoted for gallant conduct. Soon 
after the close of the war he resigned his commission, and remained in 
civil life and obscurity until the breaking out of the civil war, when he 
volunteered his services, and was commissioned by Governor Yates 
colonel of the twenty-first Illinois regiment. He was soon made a briga- 
dier-general, and fought his first battle at Belmont. His subsequent 
career has already been related in these pages. He selected the members 
of his cabinet more because of his personal friendship for them than for 
their weight and influence in the party that had elected him. Hamilton 
Fish of New Y^ork was made secretary of state. 

The most important event of the year 1869 was the opening of the 
Pacific railway from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean. The eastern 

879 




830 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

division of this road is known as the Union Pacific railway, and was 
begun at Omaha, Nebraska, in December, 1863, and carried westwafd. 
But little progress was made in the work until 1865, when it was pushed 
rapidly forward. The western division, known as the Central Pacific 
railway, was begun at San Francisco near about the same time, and car- 
ried eastward across the Sierra Nevada. The two roads unite at Ogden, 
near Salt Lake City, in Utah, and the union was accomplished on the 
10th of May, 1869, on which day the last rail was laid. The Union 
Pacific railway, from Omaha to Ogden, is one thousand and thirty-two 
miles in length ; the Central Pacific, from Ogden to San Francisco, eight 
hundred and eighty-two miles ; making a total line of nineteen hundred 
and fourteen miles, and constituting by far the most important railway 
enterprise in the world. By the completion of this great road, to the 
construction of which the general government contributed liberally in 

money and lands, Portland, Maine, and San 
Francisco, the extremes of the continent, are 
brought within a week's travel. The long and 
difficult journey across the plains has been dis- 
pensed with, and the traveller may now pass 
over this once terrible and dangerous route 
with speed and safety, enjoying all the while 
the highest comforts of the most advanced civil- 
ization. The east and the west are no longer 
separated, and the rapid development of the 
resources of the rich Pacific slope has more 
„,„„„_ „ , . than repaid the enormous cost of the road. A 

ULYSSES S. GRANT. . ' 

direct trade with China and Japan has been 
opened, and the wealth of the Orient is beginning to pour into America 
through the portals of the Golden Gate. The shortest route to India— 
the dream of Columbus and the old mariners — has indeed been found. 

On the 8th of October, 1869, ex-President Franklin Pierce died, at 
the age of sixty-five years. 

The fifteenth amendment, having been ratified by the necessary number 
of States, was formally proclaimed by Hamilton Fish, secretary of state, 
a part of the constitution of the United States, on the 30th of March, 
1870. 

In the year 1870 the ninth census of the United States was taken, and 
showed the population of the country to be 38,558,371 souls. 

The country had now attained a marked degree of prosperity. Gold 
fell to 110, and during the first two yeai-s of President Grant's adminis- 
tration, $204,000,000 of the national debt were paid. The effects of the 




THE ADMINISTRATION OF ULYSSES S. GRANT 



881 



war were being rapidly overcome, and the bitter feelings engendered by 
the struggle were giving way to a more friendly intercourse between the 
north and the south. The manufacturing industries of the country had 
nearly doubled since 1860, and the five years that had elapsed since the 
war had witnessed a marked improvement in the condition of the south, 




PRESIDENT GRANT LEAVING THE WHITE HOUSE TO BE INAXJ6TTRATED. 



which was gradually adjusting her industry upon the basis of free labor, 
and entering upon new and profitable enterprises of manufacture andi 
commerce. 

The work of reconstruction was concluded in the year 1870. On the 
8th of October, 1869, the State of Virginia ratified the fourteenth and 
fifteenth amendments, and on the 26th of January, 1870, was readmitted 
56 



TEE ADMINISTRATION OF ULYSSES S. GRANT. 883 

into the Union. On the 11th of January, 1870, Mississippi ratified these 
amendments, and was readmitted into the Union on the 17th of Febru- 
ary, 1870. Texas was the last to return to the Union, but came in 
during the year, having ratified the amendments to the constitution. 

The political troubles in the south, however, did not end with the 
return of the States to the Union. A great deal of lawlessness prevailed 
in many of the Southern States, and considerable suffering was experi- 
. enced by the negroes, whose sudden endowment with the rights and privi- 
leges of citizenship was resented by a lawless class of white men. The 
Federal government undertook to remedy these troubles rather than 
leave them to be dealt with by the States. In the spring of 1871 Con- 
gress passed a measure known as the " Enforcement Act," or the " Ku- 
klux Act of 1871," which gave to the Federal officials absolute power 
over the liberties of the citizens of, the States in which these troubles 
occurred. The president carried out the terms of the act with prompt- 
ness, and on the 17th of October issued a proclamation suspending the 
writ of habeas corpus in nine counties in South Carolina, in order that 
the law might be enforced without the interference of the courts of the 
State. The evils which these severe measures were intended to remedy 
were unquestionably very great, but the enforcement bill was neverthe- 
less a dangerous departure from the principles of free government as 
understood in this country. A free people cannot too jealously guard 
their liberties. 

On the 31st of January, 1871, Congress repealed the test oath law, 
which required all applicants for civil offices to swear that they had not 
participated in the secession movement. As few southern men could 
take this oath, this law excluded the genuine inhabitants of the Southern 
States from office under the general government, and threw the political 
power of those States into the hands of a class of adventurers, who had 
been drawn to the south since the war by the hope of obtaining office. 
The repeal of this law by Congress restored the control of the Southern 
States to the legitimate citizens and tax-payers thereof. 

In 1870 the Supreme Court of the United States decided that the act 
of Congress making " greenbacks," or the notes of the Federal treasury, 
a legal tender, was unconstitutional as regarded the payment of debts 
contracted prior to the passage of that act. As this decision had been 
given by a majority of but one justice, Mr. Hoar, the attorney-general, 
moved to reconsider it. The case was heard again, and the decision of 
the court was reversed by a vote of five to four, on the 18th of January, 
1871. Thus the constitutionality of the legal tender act was affirmed. 

In 1870 died Admiral David G. Farragut, on the 14th of August, 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF ULYSSES S. GRANT. 885 

aged sixty-nine ; General George H. Thomas, " the Rock of Chicka- 
mauga," and the defender of Nashville, on the 28 th of December, aged 
fifty-three; and General Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Con- 
federate army of northern Virginia during the civil war, on the 12th of 
October, aged sixty-three. 

On the 26th of January, 1871, Congress repealed the income tax. It 
had been retained long after the necessity for it had passed away, and 
had become odious to the nation, which had only submitted to it at first 
because of the urgency of the need for it. 

Immediately upon the opening of President Lincoln's second term of 
office, Mr. Charles Francis Adams, the American minister at the court 
of St. James, was instructed to call the attention of the British gov- 
ernment to the depredations committed upon American commerce by 
Confederate cruisers, built, equipped, and manned in England, and to 
insist upon the responsibility of Great Britain for the losses thus incurred 
by American ship-owners. Mr. Adams discharged this duty in a com- 
munication addressed to the British government, on the 7th of April, 
1865. This led to a correspondence which continued through the summer 
of that year. Great Britain refused to admit the validity of the Amer- 
ican claim, or to submit the question to the arbitration of any foreign 
government. The "Alabama question " remained unsettled for several 
years, and occasioned a considerable amount of ill-feeling between the two 
countries. Both governments regarded it as full of danger, but to Great 
Britain it was especially so, as in the event of a war between that country 
and any foreign power, the United States, following the example of Eng- 
land, might and doubtless would allow cruisers to be sent out from their 
ports which would seriously cripple, if they did not destroy, the British 
commerce. After Mr. Adams' return from England, his successor, 
Reverdy Johnson, was directed by the president to reopen the matter. 
He negotiated a treaty with the Earl of Clarendon on behalf of the 
British government, in 1869, but this arrangement was unsatisfactory to 
the Senate, which body refused to ratify it. Two years later the matter 
was revived, and in 1871 a joint high commission, composed of a number 
of distinguished public men, appointed by the American and British 
governments, met at Washington, and arranged a settlement known as 
the treaty of Washington, which was ratified by both governments. 
This treaty was ratified by the Senate on the 24th of May, and provided 
for the settlement not only of the Alabama claims, but of all other ques- 
tions at issue between the United States and Great Britain. 

The Alabama claims were referred by the treaty of Washington to a 
board of arbitration composed of five commissioners selected from the 



886 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

neutral nations. This board met at Geneva, in Switzerland, on the 15th 
of April, 1872, and the American and English representatives presented 
to it their respective cases, which had been prepared by the most learned 
counsel in both countries. On the 27th of June, the board announced 
its decision. The claims of the United States were admitted, and the 
damages awarded to that government were §16,250,000. These w^ere 
paid in due time. 

In our account of the administration of Mr. Buchanan we have related 
the dispute between the United States and Great Britain concerning the 
possession of the island of San Juan, growing out of the uncertainty as 
to the true course of the northwestern boundary of the Union. This had 
been an open question all through the civil Avar. By the thirty-fourth 
article of the treaty of Washington the two countries agreed to refer this 
dispute to the friendly arbitration of the emperor of Germany. Soon 
after the award of the Geneva conference was made, the boundary ques- 
tion was decided by the Emperor William in favor of the United States, 
into the possession of which the island of San Juan accordingly passed. 
Thus were these delicate and dangerous questions satisfactorily adjusted 
by peaceful methods, and not by the sw^ord. 

In 1870 the republic of St. Domingo, comprising a large part of the 
island of Hayti, applied for annexation to the United States. President 
Grant was very anxious to secure the annexation of this island, and to 
accomplish it went to the very verge oi his constitutional powers — going 
farther, indeed, than many of his friends believed he had the right. 
Measures Avere introduced into Congress for the purpose of securing this 
union, but were warmly opposed. A commission of eminent gentlemen 
was appointed by the president to visit the island and examine into its 
condition. They reported favorably, ])ut after a warm debate in Con- 
gress the measures for the annexation of the Dominican republic were 
defeated by a decisive majority. 

On the night of Sunday, October 8th, 1871, a fire broke out in the 
city of Chicago, and raged with tremendous violence for two days, laying 
the greater part of the city in ashes. It was the most destructive con- 
flagration of modern times. The total area of the city burned over was 
2124 acres, or very nearly tliree and one-third square miles. The num- 
ber of buildings destroyed was 17,450. About 250 persons died from 
various causes during the conflagration, and 98,000 persons w^ere ren- 
dered homeless by it. The entire business quarter was destroyed. The 
actual loss will never be known. As far as it can be ascertained, it was 
about $196,000,000. 

Almost simultaneous with this disaster, extensive forest fires swept 



888 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



over the woods of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. Whole villages 
were destroyed by the flames, which travelled with such speed that it was 
often impossible for the fleetest horse to escape from them. Over fifteen 
hundred people perished in Wisconsin alone. 

These terrible calamities aroused the generous sympathy of the rest of 
the country, and aid in money, clothing, and the necessities of life was 
liberally extended to the sufferers in Chicago and the other afilicted com- 
munities. The telegraph flashed the news across the Atlantic, and in -an 

almost incredibly 
~'"*^ short time liberal 

contributions i n 
money came pour- 
ing in from Eng- 
land and conti- 
nental Europe, 
and even from the 
far-off cities of 
India. 

On the 29th of 
May, 1872, Con- 
gress passed an 
act removing the 
disabilities im- 
posed upon the 
southern people 
by the third sec- 
tion of the four- 
teenth amendment 
to the constitu- 
tion. From this 
general exemption 
were excepted all 

persons who had been members of Congress, officers of the army or 
navy, heads of departments imder the general government, or ministers 
to foreign countries, who had resigned their positions and joined the 
secession movement. By this act at least one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand men of capacity and experience, whose services were greatly needed 
by the south, were restored to political life. 

In the fall of 1872 the presidential election occurred. The canvass 
was marked by the most intense partisan bitterness. The Republican 
party renominated General Grant for the presidency, and supported 




HORACE GREELEY. 



THE ADMINIISTRATION OF ULYSSES S. GRANT. 889 

Henry Wilson ibr the vice-presidency. The measures of the adminis- 
tration had arrayed a large number of Republicans against it. These 
now organized themselves as the Liberal liepublican party, and nom- 
inated Horace Greeley of New York for the presidency, and B. Gratz 
Brown of Missouri for the vice-presidency. The Democratic party 
made no nominations, and its convention indorsed the candidates of the 
Liberal Republican party. The election resulted in the triumph of the 
Republican candidates by overwhelming majorities. 

The elections were scarcely over when the country was saddened by 
the death of Horace Greeley. He had been one of the founders of the 
Republican party, and had been closely identified with the political his- 
tory of the country for ovfer thirty years. He Avas the " Founder of the 
New York Tribune,'' and had done good service with his journal in 
behalf of the cause he believed to be founded in right. He was a man 
of simple and childlike character, utterly unaffected, and generous to a 
fault. In his manner and dress he was eccentric, but nature had made 
him a true gentleman at heart. His intellectual ability was conceded 
by all. His experience in public life and his natural disposition induced 
him to favor a policy of conciliation in the settlement of the reconstruc- 
tion question, and, influenced by these convictions, ho signed .the bail-bond 
of Jefferson Davis and secured the release of the fallen leader of the 
south from his imprisonment. This act cost him a large part of his 
popularity in the north. He accepted the presidential nomination of 
the Liberal party in the belief that his election would aid in bringing 
about a better state of feeling between the north and the south. He 
was attacked by his political opponents with a bitterness which caused 
him much suffering, and many of his old friends deserted him and joined 
in the warfare upon him. Just before the close of the canvass, his wife, 
to whom he was tenderly attached, died, and his grief for her and the 
excitement and sorrow caused him by the political contest broke down 
his firmness and unsettled his mind. He was conveyed by his friends 
to a private asylum, where he died on the 29th of November, 1872, 
in the sixty-second year of his age. The country could ill afford to 
spare him. ^ 

On the 9th of November, 1872, a fire occurred in Boston, and burned 
until late on the 10th, sweeping over an area of sixty-five acres in the 
centre of the wholesale trade of the city, and destroying property to the 
amount of seventy-eight million dollars. As this fire was confined to the 
business quarter of the city, comparatively few persons were deprived of 
their homes. 

On the 4th of March, 1873, President Grant was inaugurated a second 



890 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

time at Washington with great pomp. Twelve thousand troops took part 
in the procession which escorted liiui to the capitol. 

Early in 1873 a troublesome war began with the Modoc Indian tribe 
on the Pacific coast. These Indians had been removed by the government 
from their old homes in California to reservations in the northern part 
of Oregon. They at length became dissatisfied with their new location, 
which they declared was unable to afford them a support, and began a 
series of depredations upon the settlements of the whites, which soon drew 
upon them the vengeance of the Federal government. Troops were sent 
against them, but they retreated to their fastnesses in the lava beds, where 
they maintained a successful resistance for several months. The govern- 
ment at length reinforced the troops operating against them, and General 
Canbv, commanding the department of the Pacific, assumed the immediate 
command of the troops in the field. At the same time a commission wiis 
appointed by the government to endeavor to settle the quarrel with the 
Indians peaceably. This commission held several conferences with Captain 
Jack, the head chief of the Modocs, and the other Indian leaders, but 
accomplished nothing. At length the commissionei's and General Canby 
agreed to meet the Indians in the lava beds a short distance in advance 
of the lines of the troops. They went unarmed and without an escort. 
While the conference was in progre&s the Indians suddenly rose upon 
the commissioners, and killed all but one, who managed to escape with 
severe wounds. General Canby was shot down at the same time, and 
died instantly. 

The Indians at once fled to their strongliolds amid the rocks. The 
troops, infuriated by the murder of their commander, closed in upon them 
from all sides, and shut them in the lava beds. Their position was one 
which a handful of men might defend against an army, and they held it 
with a desperate determination. They were dislodged finally by the 
shells of the American guns, and such as were not killed were captured. 
Captain Jack and his associates in the nmrder of General Canby and the 
commissioners were tried by a court-martial and sentenced to death. They 
were hanged in the presence of their countrymen and of the troops on the 
3d of October, 1873. 

For many years Cuba had been growing dissatisfied with the rule of 
Spain. In 1868 a revolution broke out in that island, having for its 
object the expulsion of the Spaniards and the establishment of the independ- 
ence of Cuba. The patriot army was able to win numerous successes 
over the Spanish troops, and for several years maintained its position 
against every effort to dislodge it. Very great sympathy was manifested 
for the Cuban patriots by the people of the United States, and repeated 



892 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

efforts were made to induce the government of this country to recognize 
the independence of Cuba and assist the patriots, or at least to acknowledge 
their rights as belligerents. The government, however, faithfully observed 
its obligations as a neutral power, and forbade the organization or departure 
of all expeditions from this country for the assistance of the Cubans. The 
Cuban agents were prevented from shipping arms or military supplies to 
their forces, and several vessels intended to serve as cruisers against the 
Spanish commerce were seized and detained by the Federal authorities. 

In spite of the precautions of the government, however, several expedi- 
tions did succeed in getting to sea and reaching Cuba. One of these 
embarked on the steamer " Virginius," in the fall of 1873. When off the 
coast of Jamaica, the Spanish war-steamer " Tornado " was sighted. She 
at once gave chase, and though the '' Virginius " was on the high seas 
and was flying the American flag, overhauled her and took possession of 
her on the 31st of October. The "Tornado" then carried her prize into 
the port of Santiago de Cuba, which was reached the next day. Captain 
Fry, the commander of the " Virginius," and the crew and passengers of 
the veasel, were thrown into prison. After a mock trial, in which the 
simplest forms of decency were disregarded. Captain Fry and a number 
of the crew and passengers of the " Virginius," about thirty-five or forty 
in all, were shot by order of the military authorities. The other prisoners 
were held in a most cruel captivity to await the pleasure of the Spanish 
officials at Havana. The consul of the United States at Santiago de Cuba 
made great exertions to save Fry and those condemned to die with him. 
He was treated with great indignity by the Spanish officials, and was not 
allowed to communicate with Havana, from which point he could consult 
his government by telegraph. 

When the news of the seizure of the " Virginius " at sea under the 
American flag reached the United States, it aroused a storm of indignation. 
Meetings were held in all the principal cities, and the press unanimously 
sustained the popular demand that the government should require satisfac- 
tion for the outrage upon its flag. The general sentiment of the people 
was in favor of instant war, and it was openly declared that a better 
opportunity would never arise to drive the Spaniards out of Cuba and 
obtain possession of the island. 

The government acted with firmness and prudence. Several vessels of 
war were sent to Santiago de Cuba to prevent the execution of the sur- 
viving prisoners taken with the " Virginius ; " the fleet in the West Indies 
was reinforced as rapidly as possible ; and the navy was at once put on a 
war-footing in order to be ready for any emergency. The president was 
urged to convene Congress in extra session, but he declined to do so. 



894 • HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

knowing that that body would be most likely to yield to the popular 
demand for war, and he was anxious to settle the difficulty by peaceful 
means if possible. General Sickles, the American minister at Madrid, 
was ordered to demand of the Spanish government the arrest and 
punishment of the officials implicated in the massacre of Captain Fry and 
his associates, a suitable indemnity in money for the families of the mur- 
dered men, an apology to the United States for the outrage upon their 
flag, and the surrender of the " Yirginius " to the naval authorities of the 
United States. These demands were at once submitted to Sefior Castellar, 
the president of the Spanish republic. In the critical situation in which 
Spain was then placed by her internal dissensions, Castellar had no choice 
but to submit to the American demands. Orders were at once transmitted 
to Cuba to surrender the " Virginius " and all the prisoners to the 
American naval forces. 

The orders of the Spanish government were at first disregarded by the 
officials at Havana, who blustered a great deal, and declared their wil- 
lingness to go to war with the United States. They were brought to 
their senses, however, by the warning of Captain General Jovellar, who 
told them that their refusal to obey the orders of the Madrid government 
would certainly involve them in a war with the United States, in which 
Spain would leave them to fight that power without aid from her. The 
Havana officials therefore yielded an ungracious obedience to the orders 
of the home government. The survivors of the " Yirginius " expedition, 
who were in a most pitiable condition in consequence of the cruelty with 
which they had been treated during their imprisonment, were released, 
and delivered on board of an American man-of-war in the harbor of 
Havana. On the 12th of December the "Yirginius," which had been 
taken to Havana by her captors some time before, was towed out of that 
harbor and delivered to an American vessel sent to receive her. She was 
carried to Key West, from which port she was ordered to New York. On 
the voyage she foundered at sea in a gale off Cape Fear, on the 26th of 
December. At a later period the Spanish government paid the indemnity 
demanded by the United States. 

In the fall of 1873 a severe commercial crisis known as the "Railroad 
Panic " burst upon the country. It was caused by excessive speculation 
in railway stocks and the reckless construction of railways in portions of 
the country where they were not yet needed and which could not support 
them. The excitement began on the 17th of September, and on the 18th, 
19th and 20th several of the principal banking firms of New York and 
Philadelphia suspended payment. The failure of these houses involved 
hundreds of other firms in all parts of the country in their ruin. The 



896 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



excitement became so iuteuse that on the 20th the New York Stock 
Exchange closed its doors and put a stop to all sales of stocks in order to 
prevent a general destruction of the values of all securities. The banks 

were obliged to resort to the most 
=^=- =^-=- -^^^-i^^s^^^ij^ stringent measures to avoid being 
/ L JS- drawn into the common ruin. 

President Grant and the secre- 
tary of the treasury hastened to 
New York to consult the capital- 
ists of that city as to the proper 
measures to be taken for the relief 
of the business of the country. 
Various measures were urged upon 
them. A strong appeal was made 
to the president to lend the whole 
or the greater part of the treasury 
reserve of forty-four million dollars 
of greenbacks to the banks to fur- 
nish the Wall street brokers with 
funds to settle their losses and re- 
sume business. He at once declined 
to take so grave a step, and, thanks 
to his firmness, the credit of the 
United States was not placed at the 
mercy of the reckless men who had 
caused the trouble. The govern- 
ment as a measure of relief con- 
sented to purchase a number of its 
bonds of a certain class at a fair 
price, and thus enable the holders 
M'ho were in need of money to 
obtain it without sacrificing their 
securities. On the 22d the excite- 
ment in New York and the eastern 
cities began to subside. The trouble 
was not over, however. The stringency of the money market which 
followed the first excitement prevailed for fully a year, and aifected all 
branches of the industry of the country, and caused severe suffering from 
loss of employment and lowering of wages to the working classes. 

The panic showed the extent to which railroad gambling had demoral- 
ized the business and the people of the country. It showed that some of 




NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF ULYSSES S. GRANT. 897 

the strongest and most trusted firms in the Union had lent themselves to 
the task of inducing people to invest their money in the securities of 
enterprises the success of which was, to say the least, doubtful. It showed 
that the banks, the depositories of the people's money, had to an alarming 
extent crippled themselves by neglecting their legitimate business and 
making advances on securities which in the hour of trial proved worthless 
in many cases, uncertain in most. The money needed for the use of the 
legitimate business of the country had been placed at the mercy of the 
railroad gamblers and had been used by them. The funds of helpless 
and dependent persons, of widows and orphan children, had been used to 
pay fictitious dividends and advance schemes which had been stamped 
with the disapproval of the public. An amount of recklessness and 
demoralization was revealed in the management of the financial interests 
of the country that startled even the most hardened. The lesson was 
severe, but it was needed. The panic was followed by a better and more 
healthful state of aifairs. The business of the country slowly settled 
down within proper channels. Recklessness was succeeded by prudence ; 

extravagance by economy in all quar- 
ters. The American people took 
their severe lesson to heart, and reso- 
lutely set to work to secure the good 
results that came to them from this 
■^^ harvest of misfortune. 

In January, 1875, Congress passed 

COAT OF ARMS OF COLORADO. ^ •' _' ' <=' ^ ^ 

an act providing for the resumption 
of specie payments, and requiring that on and after January 1st, 1879, the 
legal tender notes of the government shall be redeemed in specie. In the 
meantime silver coin is to be substituted for the fractional paper currency. 

On the 4th of March, 1875, the Territory of Colorado was admitted 
into the Union as a State, making the thirty-eighth member of the con- 
federacy. 

The political troubles in Louisiana and Arkansas assumed a most 
serious character during the year 1873, amounting to civil war in both 
States. The president in view of the serious nature of the disturbance^ 
intervened with force in each State, and compelled the rival parties to 
refrain from additional hostilities, and the quarrels were settled in the' 
course of the year without further bloodshed. ' 

The year 1875 completed the period of one hundred years from the 

opening of the revolution, and the events of 1775 were celebrated with 

appropriate commemorative ceremonies in the places where they occurred. 

The centennial anniversary of the battles at Lexington and Concord 

57 




898 HISTORY OF THE UNITET) STATES. 

was celebrated at those places on the 19th of April with great rejoicings. 
On the 17th of June the centennial of Bunker Hill was celebrated at 
Charlestown. Vast crowds were present from all parts of the country. 
One of the most gratifying features of the celebration was the presence 
and hearty participation in the ceremonies of a large number of troops 
from the Southern States. Nearly all of these had served in the Con- 
federate army, and their presence in the metropolis of New England was 
an emphatic jjroof that the Union has indeed been restored. The memory 
of the common glory won by the fathers of the republic has already done 
much to heal the wounds and obliterate the scars of the civil war. May 
the good work go on. 

As early as 1872 measures were set on foot for the proper observance 
of the one hundredth anniversary of the independence of the United States. 
It was resolved to commemorate it by a national exposition to be held at 
Philadelphia, in 1876, in which all the world was invited to take part. 
As these pages are passing through the press, the preparations for this 
great celebration are being carried forward with success. The exhibition 
will undoubtedly be one of the most notable events of the century. 





CHAPTEE XLV. 

CONCLUSION. 

] E have now traced the history of the republic from its settlement 
through the first century of its national existence, and from the 
point we have reached may look back over the long period we 
have traversed, and mark the results accomplished by the nation 
and the lessons which our history teaches. 

In material growth our country has surpassed every nation upon the 
globe. At the beginning of the Revolution, nearly two centuries after 
the settlement at Jamestown, the population of the thirteen colonies was a 
little more than three millions. By 1790, the year after the inauguration 
of the republic, it was 3,929,827. In 1870 it had reached the enormous 
figure of 38,547,229. In 1776 the area of the States comprising the 
Union was less than one million square miles, embracing only a narrow 
strip of country along the Atlantic from Georgia to Canada. It has grown 
by successive additions until it is now nearly four millions of square miles, 
and stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Gulf of 
Mexico to the Arctic ocean. 

In 1776 but a few wretched roads connected the distant parts of the 
country. Now all points are brought into close and intimate relations 
with each other by lines of railway and canals. Splendid steamers navi- 
gate our bays, lakes and rivers, and the feeble and precarious trade of 
colonial days has expanded into a mighty and growing system of com- 
merce which is rapidly enriching the country. In 1872 there were about 
sixty thousand eight hundred and fifty-two miles of railway in operation 
in the United States. The telegraph was unknown at the commencement 
of our existence. Over sixty thousand miles of wire are now in opera- 
tion in this country. 

In 1776 the manufactures of the country were few, and were limited 
to one or two necessary articles. In 1870 there were 252,148 establish- 
ments in the United States, employing a capital of $2,118,208,769, and 
producing manufactured articles to the value of $4,232,325,442 annually. 

In 1790 the tonnage of the United States engaged in foreign trade was 
only a little over half a million. In 1860 it exceeded six millions. It 

899 



900 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



fell off during the war, in consequence of the depredations of the Anglo- 
Confederate cruisers, but it is now rapidly reviving, and ranks next to 
that of Great Britain. In 1870 the total value of goods imported into 
the United States from foreign countries was $315,200,022 ; the total 
value of exports for the same year was $254,137,208. 

In 1790 the cultivation of cotton was just being introduced in the 
south. In 1860 the cotton crop amounted to 5,198,077 bales, and con- 
stituted the principal article of export at that period. In 1870 the crop 
amounted to 3,011,996 bales. 

Besides the larger crops, the value of orchard and market garden pro- 







SCKNE ox THE HUDSON RIVER IN 1875. 

ducts in 1870 was $6<S,054,418. In the same year the value of home- 
made articles was $23,433,332; the value of slaughtered animals, $398,- 
956,376 ; the cash value of farms, $9,262,803,861 ; and the value of 
farming implements and machinery, $336,878,429. 

The inventive genius of the country has supplied every demand which 
its rapid development has created. To ^Vmcricans the M'orld owes the 
application of steam to navigation, the invention of the electric telegraph, 
the sewing machine, the cotton gin, the reaping macliine, the discoverj"" 
of the use of ether as an anaesthetic, and the great improvements in the 
steam-engine and the printing-presir*. '' The States were behind us in 



CONCLUSION. 



901 



invention," says Mr. Charles Reade. "They soon advanced upon us, 
and caught us, and now they head us far. . . Europe teems with the 
material products of American genius. American patents print English 
newspapers, and sew Englishmen's shirts. A Briton goes to his work by 
American clocks, and is warmed by American stoves, and cleaned by 
American dust-collectors. . . In a word America is the leading nation 
in all matters of material invention and construction, and no other nation 
rivals nor approaches her." 

Nor is it only in material wealth that the improvement of our country 




ST. PAITL, MINNESOTA. 

has been so remarkable. In the higher departments of intellectual effort 
it has kept pace with its growth in riches. 

In 1800 there were but two hundred newspapers published in the 
United States. In 1870 the number of newspapers and periodicals was 
five thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, and their circulation 
amounted to 28,492,655 copies. 

At the opening of the century there were few libraries in this country, 
and these were chiefly in the hands of private individuals. In 1870 
there were in the United States 164,815 public and private libraries, con- 
taining 45,528,938 volumes. 



902 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

In 1790 there were not more than a dozen colleges in the Union, and 
the common schools were confined to the New England States. In 1870 
there were 2454 colleges and jDrofessional and scientific schools in the 
United States, with an attendance of 255,190 pupils. The private schools 
in the same year numbered 14,025, with 726,688 pupils, and the free 
public schools 125,059, with an attendance of 6,228,060 pupils. The 
total income of all these establishments in 1870 was $95,402,726. In 
the same year there were but 748,970 white males and 1,145,718 white 
females, of twenty-one years and over, who could not read, among the 
inhabitants of the United States. The public schools exist now in every 
State, and liberal provision is made for their support, in order that the 
blessings of education may be diffused among the entire population. 

At the beginning of the century the number of churches was limited, 
and in many communities there was not a single religious establishment. 
In 1870 there were 63,082 religious edifices in the Union, with sittings 
for 21,665,062 worshippers. In this year the value of church property 
was $354,483,581. 

Such are some of the results of a century of free government. Few 
persons, one hundred years ago, would have believed them possible. The 
American republic was an experiment, and its establishment and first 
steps were watched with the keenest anxiety by the friends of human 
freedom in all parts of the world. Even the founders of our system of 
government were painfully apprehensive of the future, while from mo- 
narchical Europe came hosts of predictions of failure. The wisest states- 
men of Europe had grave doubts whether a nation established upon prin- 
ciples such as ours could long endure. They predicted that in a short 
time we would be involved in Avars Avith foreign powers ; that our gov- 
ernment, unable to give security to life and property, would end in 
anarchy, and that we would at last be driven into monarchy as the only 
solution of the troubles that would afflict us before the end of the century. 

Time, the great solver of all problems, has demonstrated the Avisdom 
of the fathers of the republic, and has confounded the predictions of their 
opponents. Republican institutions have been tested, and have been 
found sufficient to all the wants of a frde people. 

Let us compare the predictions of our adversaries at the commencement 
of our existence witli the actual facts as they have occurred. 

It was predicted that we would be involved in ruinous foreign wars, 
as our weakness would tempt stronger nations to acts of aggression. We 
have had but two foreign wars — one with England and the other with 
Mexico — from both of which we have emerged successfully and with in- 
creased strength. In the same period England has engaged in four 




VIEW ON THE COLORADO KIVER. 



903 



<J04 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

foreign wars, besides her wars in India, China and Persia. France has 
had ten, Prussia six, Russia ten, Austria five, and Italy six foreign wars 
in the same period of time. With the exception of England every one 
of these nations has been beaten in some of its wars. Thus it appears 
that republican institutions have not only given us success in war, but 
have secured for us a longer period of unbroken peace than any European 
power has enjoyed. 

It was predicted that we would be torn by internal dissensions, and 
that our government would end in anarchy. During the entire period of 
our national existence we have had but one serious internal disturbance — 
the civil war — which has been happily overcome, and the w'ounds of 
which are being healed by the virtues of our free institutions. During 
this same period England has had two insurrections, Prussia one, Austria 
two of great severity, Russia one, France seven revolutions, each of which 
has been accompanied by a change in the form of government, and Italy 
and Spain an indefinite number. Our government has been strong 
enough to put down the most formidable civil war of history, and yet at 
the same time to preserve the institutions of the republic unimpaired. 
The result has shown that we are less inclined to civil wars and revolu- 
tions than monarchical Europe. 

Our government has never been overthrown, while those of many 
European states have been overturned by revolutions since the establish- 
ment of our own. France has never been able to maintain a system of 
government for a quarter of a century since the great Revolution. In 
Austria, Bavaria and Greece, the sovereign has been forced to abdicate, 
and in France he has several times been driven from the throne and 
country. Even Prussia has been forced to submit to the demands of the 
revolutionary spirit, as when, in 1848, she changed her form of govern- 
ment from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy. 

Our confederation of States has never been broken up. Germany has 
witnessed the destruction of the Holy Roman Empire, the downfall of 
the system established by Napoleon, and the destruction of the German 
confederation. The Austrian state has been several times overthrown. 
Italy has been changed from a kingdom to a collection of detached states, 
and then to a kingdom again. France has lost her possessions of Holland 
and Belgium and the Rhine provinces. During this period our govern- 
ment has prospered and grown great, and at the same time the various 
States, as many in number as all the countries of Europe, have retained 
their independence and the sole management of their internal aifairs. 

We have gained ground steadily. Our territory has increased rapidly 
by c-(»u(piest, purchase, or cession, and we liave never at any time parted 



CONCLUSION. 905 

with a foot of land belonging to the republic. During this period scarcely 
a state of Europe has failed at some time or other to lose a material part 
of itself. Thus republican institutions have enabled us not only to retain 
our original possessions, but to aggrandize ourselves beyond the wildest 
dreams of any European monarchy. 

Our growth in material wealth and in the higher departments of civil- 
ization has been shown. It was argued at the commencement of our 
existence that our republican ideas would lead us to run into licentious- 
ness and infidelity. To-day we have more churches than any nation in 
Europe, and our people are a more practically religious people than any 
European nation. Foreign writers often admit that this is the only 
country whose civilization is based on personal religion. Yet we have 
no state religion or religious laws, but leave matters of conscience to be 
settled between the man and his Creator. Our benevolent institutions 
are equal to those of any European country in number, efficiency and the 
liberality with which they are supported. Crime is not more frequent 
here than in other lands ; and it is a notorious fact that our criminal and 
pauper classes are almost entirely composed of foreigners. 

Thus we have proved to the world that republican institutions can 
make a country as great, as strong at home and respected abroad, as pros- 
perous and as stable, as enlightened and as virtuous as the most powerful 
monarchy, and by far freer and happier. 

Such a destiny could not bfe worked out by any but a free people. The 
supremacy of the law in this country leaves the citizen free and untram- 
melled. We have dispensed with large standing armies, which eat up 
the life of states, and the safety of the republic and our institutions is 
intrusted to the whole body of citizens, each of whom is vitally interested 
in maintaining it. We have no class interests to array our people in 
hostile divisions. Church and state are separate ; neither intrudes upon 
the domain of the other ; and the result is to the advantage of eacli. All 
men are equal before the law, and personal merit is the only badge of 
distinction among us. Men are trained to regard themselves as free citi- 
zens of a free land, a title more precious than all princely rank. 

Such a state of- society can exist only among an educated people. An 
ignorant man can never be a good citizen. This was the deep conviction 
of the Pilgrim fathers, and it led them to undertake the great experi- 
ment of educating the people at the expense of the state, in order that 
they might properly discharge their obligations of citizenship. Their de- 
scendants have continued their work, and have extended the work begun 
by them throughout the entire country, and have wisely made the free 
school the basis of our whole political system. There, free from sectarian 



906 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

influence or teachings, the young citizen receives the training which fits 
him to appreciate and enjoy in after years the blessings secured to him, 
and to labor for their perpetuity. If any man seek the reason of the 
remarkable prosperity of our country, he will find it in the general in- 
telligence of our people. As a whole our people are more intelligent 
than those of European states. The education of our women is higher 
than that of any other nation. For this we are indebted to the free 
school. 

If, then, the story of our first hundred years teaches us any lesson, or 
conveys any warning, it is that we should guard with jealous care our 
system of free public education, and resist any and all efforts to impair its 
usefulness, or to give to it a sectarian character. It is the most precious 
heritage that has come down to us from our fathers — the corner-stone of 
republican liberty. It is worth fighting for, worth dying for, if need be. 




APPENDIX. 




THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION. 

S the close of the first century of the independence of the United 
States drew near, it was generally regarded as the duty of the 
nation to celebrate it in a manner worthy of the great fame and 
wealth of the republic. Various plans for accomplishing this 
object were suggested, but none met with a national approval. 
In 1866, a number of gentlemen conceived the idea of celebrating the 
great event by an exhibition of the progress, wealth, and general condi- 
tion of the republic, in which all the nations of the world should be 
invited to participate. The honor of originating and urging this plan 
upon the public belongs to the Hon. John Bigelow, formerly minister 
from the United States to France ; General Charles B. Norton, who had 
served as a commissioner of the United States at the Paris exposition of 
1867; Professor John L. Campbell, of Wabash College, Indiana; and 
Colonel M. Richards Muckle, of Philadelphia. The plan proposed by 
these gentlemen was not generally received with favor at first. It was 
argued in opposition to it that the great exhibitions of Europe were the 
work of the governments of the countries in which they were held ; that 
under our peculiar system the government could not take the same part 
in our exhibition ; and that it would thus be thrown into the hands of 
private parties and would result in failure. The city of Pliiladelphia 
was designated as the place at which the exhibition should be held. 
This feature of the plan aroused considerable opposition growing out of 
local jealousies. It was argued by the friends of the scheme that Phila- 
delphia was fairly entitled to the honor, inasmuch as it had been the 
scene of the signing of the declaration of independence ; and that the city 
was also admirably located for such an exhibition, being easily accessible 
from all parts of the Union and from Europe. 

The friends of the scheme labored hard to overcome the objections 
urged against it, and had the satisfaction of seeing their plans become 
more popular every day. The matter was ably discussed in the press of 
the country, and at length was taken in hand by the Franklin Institute 

907 



APPENDIX. 909 

of Philadelphia, which body petitioned the municipal authorities to grant 
the use of a portion of Fairmount Park for the purposes of a centennial 
celebration. This petition was laid before the select council by Mr. John 
L. Shoemaker, one of that body, who offered a resolution providing for 
the appointment of a joint commission of seven members from each 
chamber to take the subject into consideration. The resolution was 
adopted, and Mr. Shoemaker was appointed president of the joint com- 
mission. 

After a careful consideration of the subject, the commission decided to 
lay the plan before Congress. The legislature of Pennsylvania now came 
to the assistance -of the commission, and adopted a resolution requesting 
the Congress of the United States to take such action as in its judgment 
should seem wise in favor of an international celebration in the city of 
Philadelphia of the one hundredth anniversary of American independ- 
ence. The legislature also appointed a committee of ten to accompany 
the Philadelphia commission to Washington to present a memorial upon 
the subject to Congress. The memorial of the committees was presented 
to Congress by the Hon. W. D. Kelley, a representative from Pennsyl- 
vania, who urged its adoption by that body, and the selection of Phila- 
delphia as the scene of the celebration, as that city had witnessed the 
adoption, signing, and proclamation of the declaration of independence. 

Early in March, 1870, Mr. Daniel J. Morrell, of Pennsylvania, pre- 
sented a bill in the lower House of Congress, making provision for the 
proposed exhibition. The bill was several times amended, and was 
finally adopted by Congress on the 3d of March, 1871. It provided for 
the appointment by the president of the United States of a commissioner 
and alternate commissioner from each State and Territory of the Union, 
who were to be nominated by the governors of the States and Territories 
from which they were appointed. Philadelphia was selected as the place 
at which the exhibition should be held ; and it was expressly declared that 
the United States should not be liable for any of the expenses attending 
the exhibition. In the preamble to this act, the following reasons were 
given for the selection of Philadelphia as the place, and of an Inter- 
national exhibition as the means, of celebrating the centennial of our 
national existence : 

" Wherecm, The declaration of independence of the United States of America was pre- 
pared, signed, and promulgated in the year 1776, in the city of Philadelphia ; and 

" Whereas, It behooves the people of the United States to celebrate, by appropriate cere- 
monies, the centennial anniversary of this memorable and decisive event, which constituted 
the fouth day of July, 1776, the birthday of the nation ; and 

" Whereas, It is deemed fitting that the completion of the first century of our national 
existence shall be commemorated by an exhibition of the national resources of the country 



910 APPENDIX. 

and their development, and of its progress in those arts which benefit mankind in com- 
parison with those of older nations ; and 

" Whereas, No place is so appropriate for such exhibition as the city in which occurred 
the event it is designed to commemorate ; and 

" Whereas, As the exhibition should be a national celebration, in which the people of 
the whole country should participate, it should have the sanction of the Congress of the 
United States ; therefore," etc. 

The president having approved the bill, it became a law. During the 
year 1871 he appointed the commissioners provided for by the act of 
Congress. They were invited to assemble at Philadelphia on the 4th of 
March, 1872; and on that day commissioners from twenty-four States, 
three Territories and the District of Columbia met at the Continental 
Hotel, in Philadelphia. A temporary organization was effected by the 
election of David Atwood, of Wisconsin, as chairman, and J. N. Baxter, 
of Vermont, as secretary. The commissioners then repaired in a body 
to Independence Hall, where they were officially received and welcomed 
by Mayor Stokley. General Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut, responded 
to this address on behalf of the commissioners, who then repaired to the 
chamber of the common council. After a prayer by the Rev. Dr. Hutter, 
the commissioners proceeded to business. On the 5th, a permanent 
organization was effected, officers were elected, nine standing committees 
were appointed, and the United States Centennial Commission was defi- 
nitely organized. 

Several changes have been made since 1872, and at present the com- 
mission is constituted as follows : 

President — Hon. Joseph E. Hawley. 

Vice-Presidents— Hon. Alfred T. Goshorn, Hon. Orestes Cleveland, Hon. John Diu> 
bar Creigh, Hon. Robert Lowry, and Hon. Robert Mallory. 
Secretary — Professor John L. Campbell. 
Director-General — Hon. Alfred T. Goshorn. 
Counsellor and Solicitor — John L. Shoemaker. 

The members of the Centennial Commission for 1875 are: 
Alabama — James L. Cooper. 
Arizona — Richard C. McCormick, John Wasson. 
Arkansas— George W. Lawrence, Alexander McDonald. 
California— John Dunbar Creigh, Benjamin P. Kooser. 
Colorado— J. Marslial Paul, N. C. Meeker. 
Connecticut— Joseph R. Hawley, William Phipps Blake. 
Dakotah— J. A. Burbank, Solomon L. Spink. 
Delaware— Henry F. Askew, John H. Rodney. 
District of Columbia— James E. Dexter, Lawrence A. Gobright. 
Florida— John S. Adams, J. T. Bernard. 
Georgia — George Hillyer, Richard Peters, Jr. 
Idaho — Thomas Donaldson, C. W. Moore. 
Illinois — Frederick L. Mathews, Lawrence Weldon. 



APPENDIX. 911 

Indiana — John L. Campbell, Franklin C. Johnson. : 

Iowa — Robert Lowry, Coker F. Clarkson. 

Kansas — John A. Martin, George A. Crawford. 

Kentucky — Robert Mallory, Smith M. Hobbs. 

Louisiana — John Lynch, p]dward Pennington. 

Maine — Joshua Nye, Charles P. Kimball. 

Maryland — James T. Earle, S. M. Shoemaker. 

Massachusetts — George B. Loring, William B. Spooner. 

Michigan — James Birney, Claudius B. Grant. 

Minnesota — J. Fletcher Williams, W. W. Folwell. 

Mississippi — O. C. French. 

Missouri — John McNeil, Samuel Hayes. 

Montana — J. P. Woolman, Patrick A. Largey. 

Nebraska — Henry S. Moody, R. W. Furnas. 

Nevada — William Wirt McCoy, James W. Haines. 

New Hampshire — Ezekiel A. Straw, Asa P. Cate. 

New Jersey — Orestes Cleveland, John G. Stevens. 

New Mexico — Eldridge W. Little, Stejihen B. Elkins. 

New York — N. M. Beckwith, Charles H. Marshall. 

North Carolina — Samuel F. Phillips, Jonathan W. Albertson. 

Ohio— Alfred T. Goshorn, Wilson W. Griffith. 

Oregon — James W. Virtue, Andrew J. Dufur. 

Pennsylvania — Daniel J. Morrell, Asa Packer. 

Rhode Island — George H. Corliss, Samuel Powell. 

South Carolina — William Gurney, Archibald Cameron. , 

Tennessee — Thomas H. Coldwell, William F. Prosser. 

Texas — William H. Parsons, John C. Chew. 

Utah — John H. Wickizer, William Haydon. 

Vermont — Middleton Goldsmith, Henry Chase. 

Virginia— Walter W. Wood, Edmund R. Bogwell. 

Washington Territory — Ellwood Evans, Alexander S. Abemethy. 

West Virginia — Alexander R. Boteler, Andrew J. Sweeney. 

Wisconsin — David Atwood, Edward D. Holton. 

Wyoming — Joseph M. Carey, Robert H. Lamborn. 

Executive Committee — Daniel J. Morrell, Pennsylvania ; Alfred T. Goshorn, Ohio ; 
E. A. Straw, New Hampshire ; N. M. Beckwith, New York ; James T. Earle, Maryland ; 
George H. Corliss, Rhode Island ; John G. Stevens, New Jersey; Alexander R. Boteler, 
West Virginia; Richard C. McCormick, Arizona; John Lynch, Louisiana; James Birney, 
Michigan ; Charles P. Kimball, Maine ; Samuel F. Phillips, North Carolina. 

In order to provide the necessary funds for the exhibition, Congress, 
on the 1st of June, 1872, adopted a bill creating a " Centennial Board of 
Finance," who were authorized to issue stock in shares of ten dollars 
each, the whole amount issued not to exceed ten millions of dollars. 
The commissioners adopted rules for the organization and government 
of this board, and directed that the books for subscriptions to the stock 
should be opened on the 21st of November, 1872, and should remain 
open for one hundred days. At the same time the president and secre- 
tary of the Centennial Commission issued an address to the people of the 



012 APPENDIX. 

United States, setting forth the objects of the exhibition, and asking their 
support and assistance in carrying the enterprise through to success. 

The Centennial Board of Finance is at present (1875) composed of 
the following gentlemen : 

President — John Welsh, Philadelphia. 

Vice-Pkesidents — William Sellers, Philadelphia, and John S. Barbour, Virginia. 

Directors — Samuel M. Felton, Daniel M. Fox, Thomas Cochran, Clement M. Biddle, 
N. Parker Shortridge, James M. Kobb, Edward T. Steel, John Wanamaker, John Price 
Wetherill, Henry Winsor, Henry Lewis, Amos R. Little, John Baird, all of Philadelphia. 
Thomas H. Dudley, New Jersey ; A. S. Hewitt, New York ; John Cummings, Massachu- 
setts ; John Gorham, Rhode Island ; Charles W. Cooper, and William Bigler, Pennsylvania ; 
Robert M. Patton, Alabama ; J. B. Drake, Illinois ; George Bain, Missouri. 

Secretary and Treasurer— Frederick Fraley, Philadelphia. 

Engineers and Architects — Henry Pettit, Joseph M. Wilson, H. J. Schwarzmann. 

The members of the Centennial Board of Finance were appointed by 
the stockholders at a meeting held in April, 1873. A majority of the 
members of the board were chosen from Philadelphia in order that, these 
gentlemen being residents of the city, there might always be a quorum 
for the transaction of business present at the meetings of the board. The 
board was authorized to issue bonds to an amount not to exceed the 
capital, to be secured upon the exhibition buildings and other proi)erty 
in possession of the commission, and upon its prospective revenues. The 
board was also ordered to begin at once the work of preparing the 
grounds and erecting the necessary buildings for the exhibition. 

On the 4th of July, 1873, the commissioners of Fairmount Park 
formally surrendered to the Centennial Commission the area of four 
hundred and fifty acres that had been set apart by the city government 
for the purposes of the exhibition. The transfer was made in presence 
of an immense throng of citizens, and with imposing ceremonies in which 
the military and civic organizations of Philadelphia took part. The 
ceremonies were opened with a prayer by Bishop Simpson of the Method- 
ist Episcopal Church, after which Hon. ISIorton McMichael, president 
of the Park Commission, formally surrendered the grounds to General 
J. R. Hawley, president of the Centennial Commission, who accepted 
them in an appropriate address. As he closed his address. General 
Hawley exclaimed, " In token that the United States Centennial Com- 
mission now takes possession of these grounds for the purpose we have 
described, let the flag be unfurled and duly saluted." The stars and 
stripes were then raised, and at the same moment the trumpeter of the 
City Troop gave a signal which was answered by a salute of thirteen guns 
from the Keystone Battery. A grand military review succeeded these cere- 
monies, and the festivities were closed by a dis})lay of fireworks at night. 

On the 3d of July, 1873, the president of the United States issued a 



APPENDIX. 913 

proclamation in whicli, after stating the action of Congress with reference 
to the exhibition, and (Icclarlng that he had received official notice that 
the grounds had been secured and that the buildings would be imme- 
diately commenced, he declared: "Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, 
President of the United States, in conformity with the provisions of tlie 
Act of Congress aforesaid, do hereby declare and proclaim that there will 
be held, at the City of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, an 
International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of. the 
Soil and Mine, to be opened on the 19th day of April, Anno Domini 
eighteen hundred and seventy-six, and to be closed on the 19th day of 
October in the same year. 

"And, in the interest of peace, civilization and domestic and inter- 
national friendship and intercourse, I commend the celebration and 
exhibition to the people of the United States; and in behalf of the gov- 
ernment and people, I cordially commend them to all nations who may 
be i)lcased to take part therein." 

On the 5th of July, the secretary of state of the United States for- 
warded the president's proclamation to the various foreign ministers resid- 
ing in the United States, together with an official note, from which we 
make the following extract : 

" The president indulges the hope that the government of will 

be pleased to notice the subject, and may deem it ])roper to bring the 
exhibition and its objects to the attention of the people of that country, 
and thus encourage their co-operation in the proposed celebration. And 
he further hopes that the opportunity afforded by the exhibition for the 
interchange of national sentiment and friendly intercourse between tli£ 
people of both nations may result in new and still greater advantages to 
science and industry, and at the same time serve to strengthen the bonds 
of peace and friendship which already happily subsist between the govern- 
ment and people of and those of the United States." 

In order that the Federal government shall be fully represented in the 
exhibition, the president of the United States, on the 23d of January, 
1874, issued an order that there should bo displayed in the exhibition 
such objects appertaining to the executive departments of the government 
as should "illustrate the functions and administrative faculties of the 
government in time of peace and its resources as a war power, and thereby 
serve to demonstrate the nature of our institutions, and their adaptations 
to the wants of the people." To carry out the requirements of this order 
the president directed that each of the departments participating in the 
exhibition should appoint one person to take charge of its property and 
arrange for its proper display and safe-keeping. 
58 



914 



APPENDIX. 




CENTENNIAL MEDAL — OBVERSE. 



On the 5th of June, 1874, Congress adooted a resolution requesting 
the president to extend, in the name of the United States, " a respectful 
and cordial invitation to the governments of other nations to be repre- 
sented and take part in the Cen- 
tennial Exposition." In accord- 
ance Avith this resolution the in- 
vitation was extended by the 
president, and was accepted by 
nearly all the European govern- 
ments. 

On the 16th of June Congress 
passed a bill authorizing the Cen- 
tennial Commission to cause to be 
prepared and struck at the Mint 
at Philadelphia, medals commem- 
orating the one hundredth anni- 
versary of the declaration of inde- 
pendence. The said medals were 
to be furnished to the commission 
by the Mint " upon the payment of a sum not less than the cost thereof." 
On the 18th of June, 1874, Congress passed an act for the admission, 
free of duties, of all articles from foreign countries intended for the Inter- 
national Exhibition. 

The work upon the buildings 
and grounds of the exhibition was 
begun iramevliately after the trans- 
fer of the grounds to the Centen- 
nial Commission, and has been 
pushed forward steadily since then. 
The enterprise has received the 
cordial indorsement and hearty 
support of the people of the United 
States, and ample funds have been 
provided to insure its success. 

The grounds appropriated to the 
exhibition comprise four hundred 
and fifty acres situated within the 
well-known and beautifid Fair- 
mount Park, the total area of which is three thousand acres. They 
extend from the foot of George's Hill almost to the Schuylkill river, and 
north to Columbia bridge and Belmont mansion. The principal build 




CENTENNIAL MEDAL — REVERSE. 



APPENDIX. 915 

ings are located on the level space known as the Landsdowne plateau, at 
the intersection of Elm and Belmont avenues. From tliis spot a noble 
view can be had of the city and surrounding country, with the beautiful 
Schuylkill winding through the landscape. The site is commanding and 
in the midst of a region famed for its beauty. 

The principal buildings are five in number, and consist of the Main 
Hall of the exhibition, the Memorial Hall or Art Gallery, the Agricul- 
tural Hall, the Horticultural Hall, and the Machinery Hall. These cover 
a total area of about forty-eight acres, and constitute the principal edifices 
only. Besides these there Mdll be a large number of smaller edifices 
devoted to the exhibition of special departments of industry, and to the\ 
use of the commissions from the various States and Territories of the 
Union and from foreign countries. The largest of these will be the 
building devoted to the uses of the government of the United States. 

The Ilain Exhibition Building is a parallelogram in shape, 1880 feet 
in length by 464 feet in width and 70 feet in height, with central towers 
120 feet high. Including its toM'ers and projections, it covers an area of 
twenty-one and a half acres. At the centre of the longer sides are pro- 
jections 416 feet in length, and in the centre of the shorter sides or ends 
of the building are projections 216 feet in length. In these projections, 
in the centre of the four sides, are located the main entrances, which are 
provided with arcades upon the ground floor, and central facades extend- 
ing to the height of 90 feet. The building is of iron and glass, and in 
the interior shows a grand hall 70 feet in height, with a central pavilion 
rising to a height of 96 feet. A magnificent central avenue 120 feet wide 
extends through the entire length of the building, and there are two side 
aisles of equal length and 100 feet wide. Three transepts or cross avenue 
intercept the three long avenues, and divide the plan into nine open spaces, 
free from supporting columns. A number of lesser aisles traverse the 
buildino;. The latter are 48 feet in width. 

In this building will be displayed the greater part of the articles com- 
prising the exhibition. The arrangement is simple, and is based upon 
common sense, but is a departure from the strictly scientific method which 
has prevailed in other exhibitions. " Each country occupies a compact 
space. Within the territory of each the objects displayed will be grouped 
so as to make the most attractive appearance, keeping the dilFerent classoy 
together as much as possible, but there will be no attempt to form belts 
of like objects extending from country to country throughout the building. 
The most advantageous positions are assigned to the four leading nations, 
the United States, England, Finance, and Germany. These nations will 
divide equally the lofty central pavilion, and each possess one of the four 



916 APPENDIX. 

towers. The proximity to each other of these great competitors for the 
trade of the world will stimulate rivalry and make the portion of the 
building where their territory is exceedingly attractive. Here the most 
costly and beautiful articles ^vill be dis})layed, and here will be the central 
point of attraction of the whole exhibition. 

"The area assigned to the United States is more-than one-fourth of the 
entire floor space, stretching from the centre to the west portal of the build- 
ing. That this space will be filled is not doubted. England, Germany, and 
France have all applied for additional space since the fir.st allotment, and 
will crowd their enlarged areas with their best products. The self-interest, 
if not the patriotism of the American manufacturers, ought to induce them 
to make great efforts to equal if not surpass their foreign rivals. 

" Several weeks ago the systcui of classification adopted last year was 
materially modified in order to have each of the principal exhibition 
buildings contain one or more complete departments. This departure 
from a strictly scientific system to a more practical and convenient one 
reduced the number of departments from ten to seven, only three of which 
go into the Main Building. These, with their subordinate groups and the 
number of classes composed in each, are as follows : 

I. — Mining and Metallurgy. 
Classes. Groups. 

100 — 109 Minerals, Ores, Stone, Mining Products. 

110—119 Mctallnrgioal Products. 

120 — 129 Mining Engineering. 

II. — Manufactures. 

200—205 Cliemical Manufactures. 

20G— 21G Ceramics, Pottery, Porcelain, Gla.ss, etc. 

21 7 — 227 Furniture, etc. 

228 — 234 Yarns and Woven Goods of Vegetable or Mineral Materials. 

235—241 Woven and Felted Goods of Wool, etc. 

242—249 Silk and Silk Fabrics. 

250 — 257 Clothing, Jewelry, etc. 

258— 2G4 Paper, Blank-Eooks, Stationery. 

265 — 271 Weapons, etc. 

272 — 279 Medicine, Surj^ery, Prolliesis. 

280—284 Hardware, Edge Tools, Cutlery and Metallic Products. 

285 — 291 Fabrics of Vegetable, Animal, or Mineral JIaterials. 

292 — 29G Carriages, Vehicles, and Accessories. 

III. — Education and Science. 

300 — 309 Educational Systems, Methods, and Libraries. 

310 — 319 Institutions and Organizations. 

320 — 329 Scientific and Philosoiihical Instruments and l^Ietliods. 

330 — 339 Engineering, Architecture, I\Iaps, etc. 

340 — 349 Physical, Social, and Moral Condition of Man. 




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918 APPENDIX. 

" This arrangement leaves for the Art Hall not only sculpture and paint- 
ing, but also engrav'ing and lii:hography, photography, ceramic decora- 
tions, mosaics, etc. At Vienna most of the articles in these classes were 
put in the Industrial Palace. The limited capacity of the Art Hall will 
probably make it necessary to erect two wooden annexes — one for photo- 
graphs and the other for engravings. The character of the exhibit that 
will be made by foreign countries in tlie Main Building can already be i)retty 
definitely ascertained from information in possession of the commissioners 
representing them here, and of the Centennial Commission. England 
will show a full representation of her textile fabrics and of her multiform 
iron and steel j)roducts. The Wedgewood, Minton, and other potteries, 
that have for years excelled the French establishments in producing 
graceful forms and beautiful ornainentation, will make striking displays, 
and one may expect specimens of the London silversmiths and jewellers. 
So of the * Brummagem ' bronze foundries, that it is said turn out 
heathen gods for the Chinese, antique statues for the Italian venders of 
vertu, and church ornaments for home use with equal readiness. 

" In the German section one may exjicct to sec an immense variety 
of articles, of which the ruling characteristic will be utility and cheapness 
rather than beauty. Unique displays will be made by the toymakers of 
Nuremburg, the clockmakers of the Black Forest, by Krupp's Cannon 
Foundry, and by several other special industries, and the educational 
department will be of great interest. In the department of mining and 
metallurgy it is thought that the German exhibit will far surpass that of 
any other European nation. It will include not only specimens of ores 
and metals, but a large collection of models, charts, and engravings, show- 
ing the methods of working mines and of smelting, refining, etc., the 
various metallic products of the cmj)ire. 

"The French section will, no doubt, as at previous exhibitions, surpass 
all others in systematic and tasteful arrangement, and in the profusion of 
rich and beautiful objects displayed, Sevres porcelain, Gobelin tapestry, 
Paris bronzes and jewelry, the silks and velvets of Lyons, costly furniture 
of rare inlaid woods, and a countless multitude of other objects to delight 
the eye, will assert the supremacy of French taste. 

"The sjH'cial feature of the Austrian section will be Bohemian glass- 
ware, Moravian cloths, and the many manufactures of Russian leather, 
amber, meerschaum, and ivory, for which Vienna is famous. In the 
varietv of fancy goods shown Austria will probably be second only to 
France, and she will be pretty sure to display also, and with some pride, 
the results of the protected iron industries recently developed in the 
provinces of Styria and Carinthia. Hungary will have a separate 'section, 



APPENDIX. 919 

and make the most of the young industries of Buda-Pesth and Presburg — 
industries not peculiarly distinctive, except when producing the curious 
semi- Asiatic costumes and ornaments of the peasantry of the country, but 
of growing importance. 

" Belgium, next-door neighbor to France in the exhibition as on the 
map, will show, as the most prominent features in her section, the most 
delicate and the most substantial of manufactures — the laces of Brussels 
and Mechlin and the iron products of Liege and Namur. A complete 
catalogue of the contributions of this busy little country to all departments 
of the fair has already been published. In the Main Building her display 
will include glass, wood, marble, steel, iron, cotton, linen, and woollen 
wares, perfumeries, toys, military goods, paper-hangings, sacred vestments, 
precious stones, hair ornaments, etc. 

" Holland's principal products will go into the Agricultural Hall, but 
she will have a variety of manufactured articles to put in the Main Build- 
ing of no striking merit, perhaps, but serving to illustrate her diversified 
industry. The curious and often beautiful fabrics of her vast East Indian 
possessions will also be exhibited. It is to be hoped that we shall also 
have an opportunity of studying by the help of models the remarkable 
system of engineering by which the water of innumerable canals and rivers 
is kept in circulation above the general level of the land and below the 
level of the sea. 

"Italy will be officially represented, the cabinet at Rome recon- 
sidered its determination, and it is likely that a number of Italian 
manufacturers will be permitted to exhibit their goods in a corner of the 
space reserved. If so, one may look for a goodly array of Venetian 
glass, Naples and Genoa coral work, and mosaics from Florence and 
Rome. 

" Switzerland will excel in watches, mathematical and surgical instru- 
ments, laces, and carved wood work. Denmark will show a variety of 
excellent domestic manufactures little known outside of her own borders. 
Sweden's chief export products, and consequently those which will be 
most prominently exhibited, are iron and steel, furs, and friction matches. 
Her educational exhibit will be made in a model school-house, and if she 
makes an exhibit of her fisheries it will probably be in the Agricultural 
Hall, which is to be the grand receptacle for all food products. Russia 
has not yet consented to take part in the fair. Greece also will not send 
articles. Spain and Portugal will both be represented. Xeither manu- 
factures extensively ; but their fabrics of cotton, woollen, and silk, and 
their tools, pottery, and domestic utensils, will be all the more interesting 
from the fact that they are rarely seen in the markets of the world. Cuba 




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APPENDIX. 921 

and the other Spanish colonies will exhibit with the mother country; but 
most of tlio articles they send will go into Agriculturjil Hall. 

"'1 he Turkish and Egyptian sections promise to be among the most 
attractive in the exhibition. By their display of costumes, arms, household 
fui'uiture, equipages, etc., they will afford a vivid picture of oriental lil'e, 
and on the part of Egypt this characteristic view of the manners of 
Mohannnedan countries will be contrasted with evidences of the remarka- 
ble enterprise and progress introduced by the wise and vigorous policy of 
the Khedive. The quaint and ingenious wares of Japan and China will 
fill a good deal of space. Siam and Persia have not yet signified an 
intention of being represented, but if they should comfi in at the last 
moment room will be made for them if possible. 

" Most of the nations on the American continent will make their best 
display in the Agricultural Hall, their products being chiefly those of 
the soil. Canada will fill a large si)ace in the Main Building with general 
manufactures ; but with the exception of the products of the Mexican and 
Peruvian mines and a few rude fabrics, it is not easy to see, under the 
classification adopted, what the lands to the south of the United States 
Avill have to display in this building. As they will want to be represented 
there, they may obtain .such a modification of the rules as will enable them 
to duplicate the display of national products which they will make in the 
Agricultural Ilall. It is to be hoped, however, that whatever articles they 
do make will be shown, even if crude and imperfect, to illustrate, if not 
in a way flattering to themselves, the condition of the industrial arts 
among them." 

The Art Gallery or Memorial Hall is located north of the Main Exhi- 
bitio.i Building. It is .situated on the most commanding portion of the 
I^andsdowne plateau, IIG feet above the Schuylkill river, and looks down 
over the lower park and the city. It is built in the style of the modern 
renaissance. It is intended to remain as a permanent art gallery after 
the exliibition is closed, and is therefore constructed in the most substan- 
tial manner. The materials arc granite, irryi, and glass, no wood being 
used, in order that the edifice may be as nearly fire-proof as possible. The 
building is 365 feet long, 210 feet wide, and '59 feet high. From the 
central portion of the roof a graccfid dome rises to a height of 150 feet. 
The dome is surmounted by a colossal ball upon which stands a figure of 
Columbia with protecting hands. At each corner of the base of the dome 
stands a gigantic figure typifying one of the four quarters of the globe. 

In the centre of the south or principal front of the edifice is situated 
the main entrance, consisting of three colossal arched doorways of equal 
proportions. At each end is a pavilion connected with the centre by 



922 APPENDIX., 

arcades. The main entrance is approached by thirteen massive steps 70 
feet wide. The entrance is by three arched doorways, each 40 feet high 
and 15 feet wide, opening into a liall. Between the arches of the door- 
ways are clusters of columns terminating in emblematic designs illustrative 
of science and art. The doors are of iron, and are relieved by panels 
of bronze having the coats of arms of all the States and Territories of the 
Union. The coat of arms of the United States is in the centre of the 
main frieze. The cornice is liandsomc in design, and is surmounted by a 
balustrade with candelabra. At each end is an allegorical figure repre- 
senting science and art. In the front of each pavilion is a windo\v 30 
feet hi.di and 12 feet wide. Each pavilion is also ornamented with tile 
work, wreaths of oak and laurel, thirteen stars in the frieze, and a colossal 
eagle a^ each corner. The arcades are designed to screen the long walls 
in each gallery, and give an air of lightness and grace to the front. They 
consist of five groined arches and four promenades looking outward over 
the grounds and inwards over open gardens which extend back to the 
main wall of the building. These garden flats are each 90 feet long, 36 
feet deep, and are ornamented in the centre with fountains. They are 
designed for the display of statuary. From the gardens a stairway leads 
to the upper line of the arcades, where there is a magnificent promenade 
35 feet above the ground. It is protected by a balustrade ornamented 
with vases and designs for statues. The building covers an acre and a 
half of ground. 

The main entrance opens into a hall decorated in the renaissance style, 
80 feet long by GO feet wide. The sides form two long galleries over 200 
feet in length. The cost of this superb edifice will be $1,500,000. The 
hall will be seen to most advantage after the exhibition is over,, when the 
other structures are cleared away, and its main front is seen across a broad 
level lawn covered with verdure and flowers. 

The Machinery Hall is west of the intersection of Belmont and Elm 
avenues, on a line with the principal building and 542 feet from it. The 
building consists of the jNIain Hall 1402 feet long by 360 feet wide, and 
an annex of 208 by 210 feet. It contains about fourteen acres of 
floor space. The principal portion of the edifice is one story in height. 
The main cornice is 40 feet from the ground. The aisles are 40 feet in 
height in the interior, and the height of the central avenue is 70 feet 
from the floor to the ventilators. The main entrances are finished with 
handsome fagidcs rising to a lieight of seventy feet. The building is 
(■onstructed of glass and iron. Along the south side is the boiler-house 
and other buildings. A special room is set apart for the display of steam 
and rotary pumps and turbine water-wheels. " There will be eight lines 




923 



924 APPENDIX. 

of shafting extending lengthwise, seven to have a speed of 120 revolutions 
and one of 240 revolutions per minute. Steam and water power will be 
supplied gratuitously to exhibitors. They will be required, however, 
to furnish such pulleys, counter-shafts and belts as they need at their 
own cost, and to pay for erecting foundations for their machines. The 
latter must be finished by the 1st of March, 187G. A s])ace will be 
reserved for steam-hammers in operation, and for heating and working 
metals." 

The Horticultural Hall is the ])roperty of the city of Philadelphia, at 
the cost of which it was built. It will remain as a j)ermanent ornament 
of the park. It is situated on the Landsdowne plateau, a short distance 
north of the Main Building and Art Gallery, and is built in the style of 
architecture of the twelfth century, and chiefly of iron and glass. Its 
length is 383 feet; its width 193 feet; and its height to tiie top of the 
lantern 72 feet. Flights of steps of blue marble lead to the cast and west 
entrances from terraces 80 by 20 feet, in the centre of which stands an 
open kiosk or summer house 20 feet in diameter. The angles of the main 
conservatory are adorned with eight ornamental fountains. The central 
conservatory occupies the main floor. It is 230 feet long by 80 feet in 
width and 55 feet in height, and is surmounted by a lantern 170 feet 
long, 20 feet wide, and 14 feet high. A gallery five feet in width runs 
entirely around this conservatory at a height of 20 feet from the floor. 

The Agricultural Hall lies north of the Horticultural Building, on the 
eastern side of Belmont avenue. It is constructed chiefly of wood and 
glass, and consists of a long nave crossed by three transepts ; nave and 
transepts being all composed of truss arches of Gothic form. The length 
of the nave is 820 feet; its width 125 ; and its height from the- floor to 
the j)oint of the arch 75 feet. The central transept is of the same 
height and is 100 feet wide. The two end transepts are 70 feet high 
and 80 feet wide. 

" It has not yet been decided whether the exhibitions of horses, cattle, 
sheep, and swipe will be held on the restricted grounds near the Agricul- 
tural Building or in some ampler area outside of the park. The date for 
opening the show of horned cattle is fixed for September 20, 187G, and 
it will last fifteen days. From a circular issued by the chief of the Bureau 
of Agriculture I learn that it is assumed that 700 head will cover all 
desirable entries, and upon that basis will be calculated the number of 
stalls which will be apportioned each breed. The scale divides the aggre- 
gate number into ten parts, and of ihese four-tenths are assigned to Short- 
horns, two-tenths to Channel Islands, one-tenth to Devons, one-tenth to 
Holsteins, one-tenth to Ayrshires, and one-tenth to animals of other jnire 



APPENDIX. 925 

breeds. The exhibition in each breed will comprehend animals of various 
a^es, as well as of both sexes. Draft and fat cattle will be admitted 
irrespective of breed. 

" Ground for the competitive trial of reapers and mowers has been 
secured on the line of the Pennsylvania railroad, between Philadelphia 
and Trenton, near Schenck's Station, an excellent site on account of direct 
rail communication with the Centennial grounds. American reapers and 
mowers have excelled at all competitive trials in Europe, and have con- 
trol of the markets of the world ; it is therefore scarcely probable that 
foreign machines will be sent here to compete with them on their own 
ground. In the steam-plowing matches, however, the English will have 
the field to themselves. Three or four prominent manufacturers are 
expected to make the most of this opportunity to introduce their machines, 
which are admirably adapted for western prairies." 

The arrangements for transporting visitors to the Centennial grounds 
are of the amplest and most satisfactory character. Horse railways from 
the city will extend to the main entrance ; and the Pennsylvania Railroad 
Company will prolong their line to the same point, where they will 
establish a depot, thus enabling them to convey travellers from all parts 
of the Union to the doors of the exhibition. This connection is in the 
form of a circle, by which all trains from the north, cast, south, and west, 
arriving over their road and carrying visitors to the exhibition, are run 
at once into the Centennial depot, in which there are four tracks. Passen- 
gers can be arriving and departing at the same time without confusion, 
and the arrangement is such that a train can be received and despatched 
every three minutes, furnishing transit facilities at this depot alone for 
sixteen thousand peojjle per day. The other railroads entering Philadel- 
phia will make similar connections. 



THE END. 



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1 HS1¥ IIH© 

OR 

I^ALESTINE AND SyRIA. 

sEiisra- 

A FULL DESCRIPTION OF THOSE COUNTRIES, THEIR HISTGRY, 
ANTIQUITIES, INHABITANTS AND CUSTOMS, 

ACCORDIXG TO THE 

GREAT DISCOVERIES RECENTLY MADE BY THE 
PALESTINE EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS. 



Illustrated with 242 Fine Eiiffvavlngs and Jlaj)s. 

<^^ INCE the establishment of Christiaiiit}' throughout the civilized ■world 
^^1 the country known as Palestine, or the Holy Land, has been the most 
interesting portion of the globe in the eyes of every race professing faith 
in Jesus Christ. Not only is it the scene of the events recorded in tlie Old 
Testament, but it witnessed tlie birth, the labors, the great sacrifice, and 
the triumpliant resurrection of the Redeemer of the world. 

For the past ten years there has been a constant and successful effort 
to explore every part of the Holy Land. These explorations have revolu- 
tionized our knowledge of Palestine, and the most interesting discoveries 
have been made, all tending to stre:igthen and confirm the faith of the 
Christian in tlie Bible. Tlie author has devoted years of study and research 
to his task, and has produced a work which is justly regarded as one of the 
most remarkable volumes ever issued. 

The book opens with tlie Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt ; and 
traces their wonderful march from the Lr.nd of Goshen to Mount Sinai, 
their wanderings in the Desert, and their final marcli to the Promised 
Land. Then follows a clear and concise history of Palestine from the 
earliest times to the present day. 

From this brief outline of tlie character of the work it will b.? seen that 
it is very comprehensive. The Bible gathers new interest read in connection 
witli it, and many difliculties which are constantly presenting themselves to 
the mind of the unassisted reader will vanish in the light of the clear 
explanations of this work. 

C03S^IDITI03^TS z 

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THE 



Centennial History 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES, 

THE DISCOVERY OF W lERlCli COMTilENT 

TO 

The Close of the Pifsl Centay of American lodepeodeocB, 



''ITII the close of the First Hundred Years of our National Progress, 
and its celebration by a Grand International Centennial Exhibition, 
a renewed and wide-spread interest is being diffused among the people in the 
History of the Great Events which have culminated in such power and wealth 
as that to which our country has attained. 

The author gives a clear, vivid, and brilliant narrative of the events of our history, 
from the discovery of the American Continent to the present day. The voyages of 
Cohimbus, the explorations of the different nations of Eurojie, and the wanderings of 
the Spaniards in quest of gold and immortal ycmth are told with graphic power. 

Every step of our colonial history is traced with patient fidelity, and the sources of 
those noble, and we trust, enduring institutions which have made our country free and 
great, are shown with remarkable clearness. The causes of our great struggle for inde- 
pendence are told with a logical force and ability unsurjiassed in any work of the day ; 
and the story of that great struggle for liberty, with its triumphant issue, is in itself worth 
the price of the book. Then follows a clear and succinct account of the formation of the 
Federal Constitution ; the establishment of the Lnion; the course of affairs until the 
breaking out of the Second War with England ; and a full and comprehensive account 
of that War and its results. The history of the country from the peace of 1815 to the 
outbreak of the Mexican war is then given, and the thrilling story of the Mexican War 
is told with all the interest of a romance. The history of the Civil War is related with 
intense vigor, and with strict fidelity to truth. The author writes throughout with the 
calmness and impartiality of a historian, and pleads the cause of no party or section. 
He states facts, points out the lessons which they teach, and appealing to neither passion 
nor political feeling, trusts to the good sense of his countrymen to sustain his views. 

It is a fitting time to consider the story- of the past, to learn the lessons which it 
teaches, and to ponder the warnings w'hich it conveys for the future. On the fourth of 
July, 18*6, the United States of America will complete the first century of their national 
existence. The people of this country can look back upon this period with pride, for it 
is a grand history — a record of the highest achievements of humanity — the noblest, most 
thrilling, and glorious history ever penned on earth, and yet the fact remains that the 
great mass of the American people are but imperfectly acquainted with it. There is a 
real need that we should know better than we do what we have done. It is only bv a 
thoughtful study of our past that we can safely provide for the perils of the future. "VVe 
have triumphed over adversity, and we are now called upon to bear the test of success. 
The author has devoted a life of study and research to his task, ami has produced a work 
that will take rank as the Standard 'History of the United States. 

COZLsTXDITIOn^S: 

It is comprised in one large Octavo volume of O'-iS ptit/i's, embellished with 442 fine Historical 
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\m m Sub of New 

A WORK DESCRIPTIVE OF THE 

CITY OF NEW YORK IN ALL ITS VARIOUS PHASES. 

Its Splendora and Wretchedness ; Its High and Low Life ; Its Marble Palaces and 

Dark Dens ; Its Attractions and Dangers ; Its Rings and Frauds ; Its Leading 

Men and Politicians ; Its Adventurers ; Its Mysteries and Crimes. 

IllVSTRATKD WITH NEARLY 200 FINE ENGRAVINGS. 

New York is the most wonderful of nil the many wonderful sights of this groat countrj', and is always 
a theme of inexhaustible interest to the other i>ortions of the Union. It is constantly changing, and (;row- 
Ing more magnificent and interesting every year. Thousands who consider themselves well acquainted 
with the Great City, by reason of their numerous visits to it. find, ujion returning after an a1 since of but 
a few years, that it has changed t" an extent which makes it almo.st a new city to them. 

The author of this work needs no endoi-scmcnt ; his long nsidcnce in New Yo k, and very intimate 
acquaintance with metrnpolitan life in all its varied phases, peculiarly fit him for the preparation of such 
a book; and he has produced in this work a vivid and life-like picture of the Great City, painting it« 
Lights and Shadows with a hold and skilful hand, and reproducing its brilliant Sights and wonderful Sen- 
sations with a graphicness which renders it the most absorbing and fascinating book that has ever been 
written upon the subject. 

IT Tm!.A.TS 

Of the City of New York ; giving a concise and interesting account of its growth and progress 

from Its tir.-it settlement. 
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marble paUi' es, prisons, and public works. 
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by day and nij;ht. 
Of New York Society; showing of what it is compnsed, and revealing a fearful ^tory of fnshion- 

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Of the Central Park, its lawns, lakes, rambles, statuary, niiiseums, aid sviinmerand winter sports. 
Of the Detectives, with -ibsorbing accounts of some of their most celebrated cases. 
Of Fashionable Stores, with a complete description of Stewart's great retail store, its attaches, 

customei-s, aiuoiint of sales, etc. 
Of the Five Points and its History, a fearful account of misery, suffering, and crime; of the 

dark dens and flilliy lanes of the Five Points; and of Ihe dwellei-s in this section. 
Of Crime and Criminals, with sketches of tiie I'r fessional 'I'hieves; the Pick-pockets, Female 

Thieves, Kiver Thieves; the 'Fences;" the Pawnbrokers; the Houghs, and others. 
Of the Theatres; of actors, actresses, ballet girls and their mode of life; Music and Peer Gardens. 
Of the Social Evil ; of the l.ost sisterhood; of Houses of Assignation ; of Street Vnlkers, Concert 

Salon 13 and Waitiir Girls; of Mukecl Bills, Dance Houses and Marry Hill's; of Pers nals and Matri- 
monial .Advertisements; of the Midnight Mission; Child Muider; the Aboiiionists and their A'ictims. 
Of the Poor of New York ; of death in the cellars, and sufleriiig in its most appalling form. 
Of Black Mailers ; of ^harpers, male and female, ai:d their victims; of hwiiidlers, gift enterprises, 

mock aiidions, 'dlie.vp .loliiis," iiuiiostoi-s, quack doctoi-s, clairvoyants, and foiiiiie tellei-s. 
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Of the Custom Hou-se, ''•'• ii>-i'li: wniking.-, and many ititeresting dciails. 
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No voliinie ever written concerning New York contains so much information of use and interest to the 
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In one large Hoyal Oct.ivo volume of S50 pages, embellished and illustrated with nearly 200 fine 
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HUMAN SCIENCE: 

OK, 

PHRZSNOIiOCiir : 

ITS PP.INCIPL!:S, PROOFS, ORGANS, TEMPERAMEaTS, C:;MI}INATI0NS, TEACniNGS, ETC, 

HEALTH, INTELLECT, MENTAL PHILOSOPHY, Etc. 
BY PROF. O, S. FOWLER. 

Ever since man began to think, or to regard himself as a reasonable and responsible 
being, the greatest of ail questions to him has been, and still is, how to live, how to regu- 
late the life given to him by the Creator, so as not only to fulfil the high destiny of an 
immortal soul, but also to enjoy the rewai-ds which attend the rightful observance of 
those great physical laws upon whicli his Avhole animal existence de])cnds. Human 
beings may be said to live two lives — that of tlieir moral and spiritual faculties, and that 
of their bodily faculties. These two lives are so closely interwoven that the j)crlcction 
of the one depends upon tlie perfection of the other. A well balanccJ and vigorous 
mental and moral organization cannot exist in an unsound or diseased body, and he only 
is a perfect man who can keep both mind and body i)ure and sound. 

thl: work treats 

OF THE NATURAL LAWS which govern man, showing that nearly all pain and 

suffering is the direct result of a violation of these laws. 

OF THE MIND and its organ, THE BllAIN, showing the wonderful sympathy 
between body, mind anil brain, and how to cause each to increase our liai)piness. 

OF THE MENTAL TEMPERAMENT, showing which is the best organization ; how 
bad qualities may be improved, and good ones developed into controlling ])owers. Parents 
will find here the real secret of instilling sound moral i^rinciplcs into their children. 

OF CHARACTER IN INDIVIDUALS, showing how to recognize and read it; what 
traits of character are indicated by various forms, complexions, eyes, intonations, modes 
of walking, speaking, &c. 

OF THE NATURAL PROCLIVITIES OF MAN, showing how abnormal physical 
conditions create sinful proclivities; — a chapter of the highest imjjortance. 

OF HEALTH, the value of good, sound constitutional health ; showing that all may 
enjoy it, and that sickness and premature death can be almost entirely avoided. 

OF CONSUMPTION, showing how a tendency to it may be averted, and how the 
disease may be cured, when the treatment prescribed is adopted in time. 

OF THE SKIN, its structure and offices ; with rules for bathing, &c. 

OF SLEEP ; " Nature's sweet restorer ; " its necessity and duration ; showing how to 
enjoy sound and refresiiing sleep at will. 

oh" THE ANATOMY OF THE HUMAN BODY, in all its various parts. 

OF SICKNESS AND DISEASE, describing fully the various " ills tliat flesh is heir 
to," and tlieir causes; with rules for their prevention, ])roper treatment and cure. This 
portion enables mothers to liave a competent medical adviser always at hand. 

OF THE MENTAL FACULTIES, their nature and offices, wi'th rules for the culti- 
vation of each. A complete guice for the proper regulation cf the mental character. 

jSSf- OF SUCCESS IN LIFE; how to deserve and how to win it; shoAvingMhat 
developments are necessary for special vocations ; what conditions guarantee success, and 
cause failure; and how each one may know for what he is best suited. 

In sliort, tliere is scarcely a question concerning the various relations of life which is 
not satisfactorily discussed and solved in this wonderful volume. The great aim of the 
Author is to s'.iow his fellow-men how to live aright, both as to their moral and animal 
existence. A right life is, incomparably, the most exalted attainment and achievement 
possib'e to human beings. Juat how to live is the master problem, heretofore unsolved, 
of all individuals, all communities, throughout all ages and climes; audhs scicntijic 
solution and application to all the relations of life, immeasurably exceeds all other 
studies and acquisitions, because it embraces all knowledge, all virtue, all enjoyn-.ent. 

In onoLtrrje roy tl octavo volume, of 1211 pages, illustrated with over 2C 01 ire Engrav- 
ings, prepare! under the personal supervision of the Author, and furnished to tulscribers 

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NATIONAL FllBLiSHING GO'S SUPERFINE EDITION. 



NEW DEVOTIONAL AND PRACTICAL 

fflif iiiii gABiiiY Mmm. 

Vi/ifh over looo Fine Scripture Illustrations. 

n » » ^ 

ll^UR DEVOTIONAL AND PRACTICAL PICTORIAL FAMILY BIBLE is the 
f^M> "lost perfect aiul comprehensive edition ever published in this country. 
'2-»^ In addition to the Old and New Testaments, Apoerv-i)lui, Concordance and Psalms 
in Metre, it contains a large amount of ex])lanatory matter, compiled with great care, and 
furnishing a complete eneycloi)etlia of Biblical knowledge. 

The following are among its leading features: 

L A comprehensive and critical History of all the Books of the Bible. 

2. A very elegant and elaborate Marriage Certificate, with designs, etc., in seven colors. 

3. A History of all the e.xisting Religious Denominations in the world, and the various 
Sects, both ancient and modern. 

4. Beautifully illuminated jiages of the Lord's Prayer and Ten Commandments. 

5. A very unique Family Record for ilarriages, Births and Deaths, printed in colors. 

6. The History of the Translation of the English Bible. 

7. A handsome Photograph Albuui for sixteen Portraits, printed in colors. 

8. A complete and i)ractical household Dictionary of the Bible, comprising its Antiqui- 
ties, Biography, Geograi)hy and Natural History, by the great Biblical scholar, William 
Smith, LL. D. Expounding every subject mentioned in the Bible. 

4iQI" Special attention is called to tlie great value of this feature. Dr. Smith's is everywhere concedwl 
to be the most comprelieiisive .uid valuable liible Dictionary ever published. 

9. Over lOIX) fine Scripture Illustrations, accurately showing the Planners and Customs 
of the Period, Biblical Antiquities and Scenery, Natural History, etc., etc. 

10. Topographical Sketch of the Holy Land, with Maj)s and Panoramic views of the 
oountry as occupied by th(! different tribes. 

11. Illustrations of .Jerusalem and its environs, showing the Holy City as it ap))eared in 
the time of David and again in the time of Ciirist. The Mount of Olives, Mount Zion, etc. 

12. The Wanderings in the Wilderness, witli IMap and Illustrations showing the Wilder- 
ness of Sinai, tiie Camp of the Israelites, Standards of the Twelve Tribes, etc. 

l.'{. Illustrations of the Tabernacle and Solomon's Temple, witli i)lans, altars, ark, golden 
candlestick, i)razen laver, breastplate, molten soa, and the hii,'h ])riest in his various offices. 

14. Illustrations of scenes and inciilenls in the Life of Clirist. 

15. The Cities and Towns of the Bible, showing all the important ))laces in Palestine. 

16. Scenes in the Lives of the Patriarchs, Pro]>hcts and Kings of the Old Testament. 

17. Illustrations of the Animals, Birds, Insects, Reptiles, etc., mentioned in the Bible. 

18. Illustrations of the promin.!nt events in the Life of St. Paul. 

19. Illustrations of the trees, plants and flowers of the Bible. 

20. Fac-similes of Ancient Coins, with a description of each, including the Hebrew, 
Greek ami Roman coins, with their value in .golil. 

21. A Harmony of the Four (i«>spels, and .\nalysis of the Bible. 

22. .V Table of contents of the Old and New Testaments, so arranged that any subject 
or occurrence mentioned in the llible can be readily rel'erred to 

23. A Plan siiowing how the Ilible may be read tlirough in a year. 

24. A Table showini; how the earth was repeo])led by the descendants of Noah. 
2.3. Nearly One Hundred Thousand Marginal References and Roading.s. 

2G. A Chronological Table, showinir the princi])al events of Jewish and contemporaneous 
History, from the creation of the worUl to the present time. * 

27. A Table of the Kings and Pro])hets of Judah and Israel, arranged in parallels. 

Tlie following are sptuimens of letters that we have received from 
Clergymen and from .Vgents who arc selling our Bible: 

Rev. \V. S. Bi..\ck, of Monroe, Union Co., N. 0., writes: — " Kvery person is delighted with yonr Bible. 
It is 111!' most comiilete, and jrives.more entire satisfaction than any other Bible I e\er saw. I sold U copies 
in ono day, l.J in another, and 17 in another, mostly in the finest style of binding." 

Uev. .T. G. Monfort. D. D., of Cincinnati, 0.. writes:— "This Family Bible is of inestimable value. Its 
pictures Impress .s;icred characters and scenes njion the imagination, and its niap<, tallies and margi'al refer- 
ences make it the best of all Commentaries. I<et no family that can afford it bo without thij large, well- 
print/<d, handsomely-bound and illustrated copy of the Word of God." 



r.EV. H. N. HI1JI3ARD, of Point Abino, Ontario, Canada, who has sold over uOOfopiBsof our Bible, writi-s:— 
" 1 he, latest edition of your Bible is suijerior to anjr Bible hat I ever saw for the Siimo uioney. Subbchbem 
sire highly delighted with it." 

Me. J. Bakne,s, our .\gent at St. James, TbelpM Co., Mo., writes:— "The bibles you sent me suri.nse the 
people. They pronounce them the finest ever brought into this country." 



C. A. Tejiple, of Rejidii.g, Mid<llesex Co., Mass., writes:— " There is a man sellini,' a $C0. Bible here It 
is not near as tine as your $1."). Bible in any respect; binding, paper, type, aud engravings are all inferior and 
so considered by those who have seen and compared the two." ' 

J. L. MouKisoN, of Eldorado, Preble Co., O., writes:— '-Your Bible is the best selling boolt I ever tried 
I sold 115 copies in Adams Township, Darke Co., 0., and 75 copies in Newberry Township Miami Co O I 
have been engaged in selling books by subscription for the past fifteen years, and your liiblo gives better 
satisfaction than any book I ever sold." 

A.\no>i JoNiis our Agent at Keysville, Charlotte Co., Va., writes :~" Your Bible is a perfect gem in beauty 
and a wonder to all in clicapness. Nothing like it has ever been sold in this county." ' 



G. W. Ellis, of Linton, flreen Co., Ind., writes:— "I have sold 52 Bibles; 38 of them in one small town- 
ship. My suUscnbers are well pleased with them. One man says he would not take $25. for his |15. Bible 
and do without one of the kind. Others say they would not take $20." 

J. C. BiLLixniiAM, of Gloversville, N. Y., writes:— "1 have sold 71 Bibles in this town, aud have not yet 
canvassed more than half of it." 

WE APPEND THE FOLLOWING REPORTS FROM AGENTS. 

W. L. Swift, of Fayette Co., Tenn., sold 83 Bibles in eight days. , 

Mrs. H. Vansize, of Ada, Mich., sold 140 Bibles in four weeks. 

H. G. CoNSER, of Rebersburgh, Centre Co., Pa., sold 20 Bibles in two days. 

Mr. J. Zimmerman, a student from the Theological Seminary of Gettysburg, Pa., lold lO-J Bibles in Cai roll 
Co., Md., in fourteen days ; 12 of these Bibles were sold in one day. 

William K. Stiles sold 79 Bibles in Lee Township, Platte Co., Mo. 

Rev. a. J. McGowN, of Huntsville, Texiis, writes:—" I sold 197 Bibles last month: and hoi)e to do better 
next month. In one day I sold 26 Bibles." 

Mr. GEORor. Stf.vens, our Agent at Corning, Steuben Co.. N Y., writes : — " I have f.aind more than twenty 
different styles of Family Bibles while canvassing, but I find none that are equal to youra." 

It is printed from large, clear, new type, on fine white paper, made e.Tpressly for this 
Bible, and bound in the most handsome and substantial manner; contains 1400 pages, 
and over 1000 Fine Scripture Illustrations, on steel and wood, by Gustave Dorc, and 
other celebrated Artists, aud will be furnished to subscribers at "the following Prices, 
payable on delivery: 

Bound in American Horocco, Panelled Sides, Marbled Edges .'at $8.50 

Bound in Anorican Morocco, Panelled Sides, Gilt Edges at 10.00 

Elegantly lound in Turkey Morocco, Full Gilt, Raised Panels at 15,00 

Also, a cheap edition, •without the Dictionary and illustrated matter . -at 6.50 

^^^ There is no other Bible published for the price that will at all compare with it. 
The binding is of the most handsome and substantial kind, being very heavy and durable. 
The price of our Bible is full 20 percent, lower than other publi.^hers sell "similar Bibles. 
Compare our $15. Bible with any other one that sells to subscribers for S18. or $20. — examine 
the binding, engravings, paper, etc., carefully, and you will be convinced of its supcrioritv. 

— Inferior Family Bibles are being circulated.— See that the copy 
you buy is printed on Fine Paper, and that it contains over 
IQOO Fine Scripture Illustrations, and Dr. SMITH'S Comjdete 
Dictionary of the Bible. 

Published in both English and German, at the same prices. 

Bibles are always in flentand, and yon can often sell a reallij ralii' hie, 
handsome and cheap one to jtersons who will bni/ no other hook. 

-Send for circulars containinsr terms to Agents, aud a 
fuller description of our Bible. 

Address, NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO, 

Philadelphia, Pa. ; Chicago, 111. ; or, St. Louis, Mo. 



CAUTION 



THE UNDEVELOPED WEST; 

FIVE YEARS IN THE TERRITORIES. 

Being a Conrplete Histori/ of that Vast lirf/hm Hetwecti the 

Jillssissip/>i titid t/ie Pacific; Us Itcstmiccs, Climate, 

Itthabitants, Natural Coviosities, Etc. 

ON 

PRAIRIES, MOUNTAINS, AND THE PACIFIC COAST. 

WITH 240 KINK ILLUSTIiATIONS, FROM ORIGINAL SKKTCIIES AND I'lIOTOGRAPlIlC VIEWS 
OF THE SCENEliY, LANDS, MINKS, PEOl'LE, AND CURIOSITIES OF THE GREAT WEST. 

Western Cwresponlait of tin Cncinnati Comiiurcuil, and' aullior of " Li/i: in VlaJi," etc 



Mr. Beadle spent five years in the Great West, for the especial purpose of exploring 
the country. Setting out on foot, he traversed the States of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, 
and Kansas, as well as Dakotah and the Indian Territory ; vifiitinir in jierson all that 
was worth seeing; examining the lands, living and conversing with the people, and 
gaining for himself a fund of information, l)ase<l xi]ion his own obtervalions and discover- 
ies, more extensive than one man in a million can obtain. 

He visited the rich mines of Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and Idaho; spent months with 
the Indians, both friendly and hostile, studying their character and haltifs ;• explored 
the varions routes of the lireat Pacitic Railways ; j)assed into California and Oregon, and 
there enjoyed pec^nliar advantages for seeing and investigating the resources and curiosi- 
ties of those remarkable States. He spent considerable time in New Jlc.xico, Arizona, 
and Texas, and his accmint of his observations and discoveries in those strange and 
de p'y interesting portions of our country v.ill commend liis book to the careful conside- 
ration of the schohir as well as to all who seek practical information or amusement. 
His only com})anions in his travels in .\ri7,ona were Indian guides, and for weeks during 
his explorations in that Territory he never saw the face of a white man. 

The book is full of information and facts of the great^t imjioriance, such as could be 
obtained only by going aftcn- them, as tliis indefatigalde e.xjiloier did. 

All sorts of people ti>j;ine in this. work: the hardy Irontier faruiM-; the wary hunter 
and trapper; the reckless miner; the cruel and degraded savage; the haid-working 
" Heathen Chinee; " the " much-married " Mormon; the strange remnants of the once- 
powerful Aztec race— all thes(? (igure with the naturalness of lile in this remarkable book. 

Tiiese new States and Territories contain incomparably tlic grandest scenery in the 
world, and some of the riciiest resources of the American Continent. Probably no other 
man has ever journeyed so extensively among them as Mr. Beadle — certainly no one so 
comjietent to describe what he has seen. 

tS'Ta prospective enngrasfs and settlers in the "Far West." this history of that vast region 
will prove an inv.iluaMe assistaiice. supplyiRg. as it (l^ii's. awaut loug leit of a tail.. lutheutic and 
reli.il)Ie guide to climate, soil, i;riu\uits. distances, loralities, means of travel, etc. This work may 
be relieil on, for it contains no second-hand information. 

Jk-G-EINTS ^WTAJNTlEXi. 

The crreat desire everywhere manifested to obtain this work, atjd the low ])riee at which 
it is sold, combined with tiie very liberal commissions, make it tiie liest I'jjjiortunity for 
Agents to make money ever heard of in tiie history of books. They are meeting with 
unprecedented success, selling from FKb' riili.N to 'rVVIi.N'I'V, and some even as high 
as lUiKl'Y copies i)er day. 

Ssiid for Circulars, aiii see onr Terms, anJ a Foil Descrinllca cf liic WorL 
A,id,'css, NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO., 

Philadelphia, Pa. ; Chicago, 111. ; or, S^. Louis, Mo. 
IN ONE LARGE ROYAL CITAVO VOLLME OF m PAGES. TRICE S-^ 7a. IJi CLOTU. 



THE 

LIGHT IN THE EAST. 

A COMPREHENSIVE RELIGIOUS WORK, 

EMBRACING THE LIFE OF 

OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 

AND THE LIVES OF HIS HOLY APOSTLES AND EVANGELISTS. 

BY REV. JOHN FI.EETVVOOD, D.D. 

Together with the LIVES of the PATRIARCHS and PROPHETS, and of thf Mcs 

Eminent Christian MARTYRS, FATHERS and REFORIVIERS. To 

which is added the HISTORY OF THE JEWS, from the 

Earliest Times to the Present Day, and a 

HISTORY OF THE RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS OF THE WOKl.l). 
ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER 200 FINE ENGRAVINGS. 

The object of this work is to present to the reader a full, comprehensive and iuiciligent 
account of the Life, Ministry and Sufferings of our Blessed Redeemer. On all sides there is 
a growing demand for some plain and forcible illustration of the Life and Tcnchii gs (if Our 
Saviour while on earth, which, itum(tn-cd b;/ the errors and tlieoriex of jUDiiRN j'lllLosoi'llV, 
shall serve as an assistance to the faithful student of the Gospel story. Su<;h a work is needed 
in every household to strengthen the faith of the aged, nnd to keep the feet of the young in 
the narrow way. The Lives of the A/xisllei and Eviiiiycligtn are given in full, and to them ara 
added biographies of the other New Testament eharacters. It will be found a great assist- 
ance ti> an intelligent comprehension of Christ's ministry to be thoroughly instructed in the 
history of those who were his intimtito friends and the agents of his power. 

The f^ives of the Pilrinrchi ond Prophets embrace comprehensive accounts of the most 
noted Old Testament cliaractTS, a knowledge of whose lives is essential toa]>rop>r under- 
standing of that of our Saviour, who was the fulfilment of the Old Dispensation. 'J lie work 
would bo inc'omplete did it fail to trace the sjiread of Christianity lioui the dnys of the 
Ap&stles to the modern era. This is done in a series of biographies of the E'lrlif ChriKiinn 
Marti/rs, Fathers mid Ituforinert, em')racing a period from St. John to the Reformation, and 
skowing horv the truth was establishe 1 and witnessed, under God, by those noble men. To 
this is ad-ded a Histori/ of the J/nos fnnn the Earliest Times to the Prcnent D'Of, which is very 
complete and comprehensive, and no more interesting narrative is to be found in the p:i|;ea 
of history. 

The History of all Religions Denomiiintinus comprises a Series of comprehensive accon.nts 
of the various forms of truth and error which have jirevailed in the world. A proper undijr- 
standing of this subject will do much to sotten denominational asperities and to tcr.ch us 
that respect for the religious belief of our brethren, which should be the distinguisljing i.nark 
of a Christian. The Chroii,ilo<jir<il Table, will be found especially valuable and interesting, 
and will enable the reader to mark tlfT^progress of tho outside world, while Israel was work- 
ing out her desciny. 

One of the great merits of this work is that it comprises in one large volume that which 
ifl usually spread out through a great mnny books, so that it may be )-a.\<\ it is in eflect a 
complete library of religious literature in itself. The Editor has been extremely desiious 
of including in it all that it. is essential for a Christinn to know, and )iinth that is ji/ensont tii 
read of. Nothing necessary to n full :iiid intelligent understanding of the truths of revealed 
religion has been oiMitted, and the bool< is perfectly free from sectarian bias, its aim being to 
proiU'ite the cause of the one indivisible Church. 

In one large octavo volume of 850 pnzes, eiMbcllished and illustrated with more than 2(i0 
fine Engravings, by the host artists of England and America, and furnislicd to Subsciibers, 

Elegantly Bound in Pine Morocco Cloth at $3.75 per Copy, 

•• '* In Red Roan, Full Gilt Back at 4. .50 '* 

" " In Frencti Morocco, Full Gilt Panelled Sides- at 6.00 " 

agejsits WAWTEii. Address, NAlluNAL PUBLISHING CO, 

Philadelphia, Pa. ; Chicago, 111. ; or, St, Louis, Mo 



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